


Married Bliss

by Chocobofever



Series: Jealousy AU [1]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Arranged Marriage, Loyalty, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-29
Updated: 2018-07-13
Packaged: 2018-08-27 17:03:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 25,176
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8409628
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chocobofever/pseuds/Chocobofever
Summary: When an alpha loses their mate, it is a race against the clock to stabilize their psyche before they go permanently mad. Most commit suicide. Some kill or commit rape. The only way of saving the alpha is to bond them with another, which sometimes is easier said than done. The one good thing about Kakashi is, he will do anything to be unlike his father. OR: Prequel to Leaving for War.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello guys. This is BEFORE Leaving for War, in the same universe. Proud to finally have something to show, I have so much unfinished in this universe. Hope you enjoy.

”Will it even work?”

“It’s our only chance of saving him.”

“It wouldn’t be, if one of you selfish bastard agreed to give your daughter to him,” said Elder Mitokado, to which none of the clan heads had a good response. It was the truth, after all.

“Hatake Kakashi has proven tenacious, far more than his father ever was," said Lady Utatane, her voice dry. "Hiruzen has vouched for the Umino boy—I see no reason for Hatake to reject him. In time we might be able to provide him with a more suitable candidate, but at the present, time is of the essence.” She raised her head, narrowed eyes looking over the row of heads. “All in agreement of the suggested course of action?”

All hands rose, some more slowly than others, including Hokage Danzo’s. Their leader had a slanted smile on his lips, looking highly entertained by the evening’s proceedings.

“Then, it is decided! Hiruzen, you will inform Hatake.”

“Naturally,” agreed Hiruzen, nodding his acquiescence, first to the council and then to honor their esteemed Hokage. He'd once upon a time been a prime candidate for the role of Hokage, overturned at the last moment due to being deemed 'too soft' for the job. Utatane's lips pursed thinking of it. To this day she could not stand his soft demeanor — she had always preferred alphas to act their role — but she could not help but wonder. 

Umino Iruka was foul-mouthed, stubborn and of a barely sufficient blood-line — His parents had been loyal, if not high-ranked, employees of the government. Utatane had checked. The idea of that combined with a highly refined line, the Hatakes, should have repulsed her, yet she felt strangely curious. What were the odds that Hiruzen's bet would pay off? Making sacrifices for the greater good  _should_ have been a given — It was a trait she had seen, and appreciated, in Danzo, good lord that alpha could be vicious — But Hiruzen tended to look for solutions that left all parties, for a better word,  _happy._ It was conduct that Utatane found unforgivably inefficient, but also intriguing, because Hiruzen's instincts on such things were often spot on. Wouldn't it be a laugh if after all the excellent pedigree prospects they'd provided Hatake with, he'd end up successfully procreating with a mongrel? 

—

It had only been eight days, but Kakashi felt as if he was losing his mind. His fingers trembled, hidden deep in the pockets of dirty, military-issue pants that he had not gotten around to changing since his arrival in the village two days ago. The alpha inside of him raged, hurt, disappointed and above all ashamed. Not only had they managed to lose yet another mate, this time it was by Kakashi's own hands. He probably had blood under his nails still, too in-shock to be methodical about cleaning them.

“He is ready.” Kakashi opened one eye, meeting the somber gaze of one Sarutobi Hiruzen. 

“He?” Kakashi drawled.

“Your intended is male. I hope you don’t mind.”

As if it would matter if he did. Omegas did not grow in trees and Kakashi had never been more consciously aware of this fact until he began losing them, one after another. This would be his  _fourth,_ good almighty lord. And every time, finding a replacement became more difficult, his options more sparse.

Who'd want to marry someone like him?

"Let’s get this over with,” Kakashi said, leaning away from the wall. Hiruzen's lips pursed, but the older alpha did not protest. Absently Kakashi wondered why someone like Sarutobi Hiruzen would be chosen to organize his marriage. It sounded like punishment — Trouble in the top house, perhaps?

They walked down the hall, Kakashi half a step behind. His eyes scanned each door as they passed, until soon they came to stand before a thin, paper screen. Through it Kakashi could see several vague shapes and without conscious thought, his eyes began to scan the figures in search of something.

_Omega_ his mind supplied. 

_Yes, I know,_ thought Kakashi dryly, though he was unable, or perhaps unwilling, to make himself stop. In the past eight days he'd found himself staring more than he'd done in the past eight years put together and he considered it a miracle he'd not been punched in the face for it yet. Perhaps it was testament to how quickly the rumors spread. Whether the new-found tolerance was due to pity or due to fear, Kakashi did not know, and he wasn't sure his pride would have been able to take it if he did.

Kakashi's ears perked at the sound of laughter. His mind immediately tried to put together the voices with the shapes, but it was hard. None of the voices sounded deep enough to be alpha in any case.

“I feel I must warn you,” Hiruzen said, speaking in conversational, but quiet tones. “Iruka did not grow up in high society the way you and I did.”

“Is he a prostitute?” Kakashi drawled. It was a prospect he had considered, had done so years ago actually, when the Council had been in the process of procuring him a third mate. They'd found one in the end, Kiyome — Kakashi sneered at the thought, thinking of how that one ended — But it had been a close call. He'd thought then that if the Council couldn't find someone, he'd walk down the road to the Red Lights district and marry the first omega that caught his eye. It would have been ridiculously simple, if distasteful — After all no-one, not even Kakashi, really wanted to bind their sanity to a person all your friends could say they'd fucked.

For a moment, Hiruzen appeared horrified.

"No?" Kakashi drawled.

_"_ No," said Hiruzen, aghast. Kakashi looked away, brushing hair out of his eyes, feeling something in his chest, maybe nerves, let up.

"I figured they'd have trouble finding someone," Kakashi muttered, half an excuse, if he actually did those.

"The limited time-frame certainly puts a strain on things, but no." By the voice of him, Kakashi thought Hiruzen actually shuddered. Maybe he was imaging himself in Kakashi's shoes or perhaps he was offended for the person Kakashi was to marry. It wasn't entirely implausible — Kakashi was already starting to suspect that Hiruzen knew his intended more than as a passing acquaintance. “Iruka is a good boy.”

“Boy?” Hiruzen must have heard the question in his tone, for the alpha conceded.

“Young man now. I’ve known him since he was but a little boy so he seems very small to me, but it is high time he got married. The years pass in a blur.”

So the omega really did have ties to the Sarutobi family. Quite close ones, if it was the head of the family arranging his bonding. “How old is he?”

“Nineteen. His birthday was in January.”

“Surprisingly old for being unmarried,” Kakashi noted. Not untouched, then, but neither had his two last been. Kiyome had been married once before, to a husband she had, in all likely-hood, killed off herself, and Kifune just wasn't... Well. Old-fashioned enough. No doubt it had limited her options, since she'd been thrown together with Kakashi.

And had died for it.

“Iruka himself has not been in much of a hurry,” Hiruzen admitted, interrupting Kakashi's disturbing thoughts. “It is not until lately that I have been pressuring him about it. I wanted Iruka to proceed at his own pace, but I fear he might have been living a bit too comfortably. No matter, he cannot be treated as a child forever.”

“You two are related?” Kakashi asked.

“By blood, no,” Hiruzen said, clearly expecting the question. “His parents were family friends.”

“Were?”

“Deceased,” Hiruzen confirmed. Something like regret flashed in the aged alpha's eyes and Kakashi avoided looking at it. It rubbed open wounds that were a bit too fresh for him too.

“And Iruka is living with you... Your family?” Kakashi asked cautiously, brain running at full speed trying to make a picture of what he'd learned.

“No. It would not have been practical at the time. I have been more of a supportive force, I should hope, in his life. He has made himself a good life in the orphanage, helping out with the younger children and such.”

Kakashi mused on this for a minute. An orphan. Better than a prostitute, that was for sure, though he supposed he now knew why the alpha had warned about Iruka being different. Well, with his track-record different might not be bad, thought Kakashi absently, watching as the doors were slowly pulled aside by someone in the room.

“Gramps," the person said, and Kakashi's pupils dilated.

_Omega,_ his mind needlessly supplied.

—

If Kakashi had thought he’d felt bad before, it was nothing compared to the nausea and quickly beating heart he experienced being in the same room with Iruka. Brown hair and eyes like molten chocolate, Kakashi could not take his eyes off the omega. One grey eye scanned every dimple, every crease — proof that this creatures _smiled_ a lot, something which had Kakashi's inner alpha purring in content — And the existing bond, already weak, came crashing down.

It got bad enough that Iruka commented on it, seeing Kakashi wipe sweat off his damp and sticky forehead.

“I’m alright,” Kakashi drawled dismissively, not about to go into the specifics of his symptoms.

“You look kind of pale.”

“I’m always pale. It runs in the family.”

“Oh,” said Iruka. Kakashi didn’t think he’d been entirely convinced, but at least the omega let the matter lie after that.

Kakashi did his best to breathe. Maybe it was because he’d killed her, maybe it was because his subconscious liked Iruka and had attached itself to the omega with a force that left Kakashi feeling weak-kneed and breathless, but things were happening fast. Too fast. His bond with Kiyome was _breaking apart at its seams._ It was nothing like the slow slide of before and Kakashi experience a moment of grave anxiety as he considered the possibility of his old bond breaking before he had a chance to sink into and simmer in the new one.

Finally the priest ended the ceremony, indicating that Iruka could be marked with the Hatake family insignia. Kakashi all but shoved the small box at him, containing a small, blue jewel earring, one Kakashi had worn on his right ear growing up. He'd not bothered to put it back in since then, though he could have. The priest, a round, slightly absent-minded beta, fumbled with the box, but he thankfully did not drop it as he headed in the direction of Kakashi's newly bonded mate.

Fifteen minutes later they were allowed to leave and the fresh air helped clear Kakashi's mind. It was late enough to be dark out and for the first time since the ceremony had commenced, Kakashi looked at his mate with a different intention than to rate his reproductive quality. The brunette's eyes were keenly observing the curve of his toes, arms wrapped around a slim middle. To Kakashi, the omega didn’t look very happy and though some consternation was to be expected, Kakashi’s ego took a hit from it.

“The world ain’t ending,” he observed aloud, drawling to hide his own insecurities. Hiruzen had said he’d pressured Iruka, which was the common course of things, but Kakashi didn’t know to what extent. Few married because they truly wanted to, but Kakashi had always taken pride in his ability to at least make sure his mates were comfortable.

Iruka’s eyes flickered to his before falling to stare at the ground again, or to the omega’s own toes as Kakashi had assumed earlier. “That’s not what I’m thinking of,” the omega said, kicking a pebble on the road.

“No?” Kakashi prompted.

“I was wondering why my grandfather would make me marry someone who’s sick. Are you retired? Is that it, a wounded soldier who’s honorable and unable to leave the village, making me safe?”

“Wait, wait, wait,” said Kakashi rapidly, stopping dead in his strides. “First things first—You think I’m _crippled?”_

The omega’s eyes rose to meet his, flashing hot, molten chocolate indeed, meeting Kakashi's eyes way too boldly considering he was an omega and Kakashi his husband. “Aren’t you? You’re,” The omega gestured, a very rude thing to do, and good lord Hiruzen had been right to warn Kakashi. He couldn't believe this creature had survived to adulthood.

“I’m hardly mauled to the extent that you’re suggesting.” Kakashi had never, _ever_ gotten accused of being too _weak_ for a relationship, not from anyone not out to insult him anyway.

“ _Hardly?_ ” The claim wasn’t half as insulting as the tone Iruka said it in, a twisted, unhappy smile pulling at the omega’s lips. “Next you’re going to claim you wear that mask and the eye-patch for fun.” Kakashi totally blew his fuse and that he blamed on the precarious situation with his bond. In one swift move he’d yanked off the eye-patch and pulled down his mask, fixing his young intended with a mis-matched, icy stare. The sarcastic smile on Iruka’s lips quickly dropped to be replaced by confusion. “Then why—”

“None of your business,” Kakashi snapped, bitingly enough that Iruka's instincts awoke, causing the omega to flinch and take a step away. Mollified, but also feeling a bit guilty, Kakashi made sure to soften his sounds. “I’m not retired. I’m active, but on leave to marry you. My symptoms...” Kakashi felt his lips crease in dismay. He really did not want to get into that, with his mate or anybody else. “It’s passing.”

Iruka looked more befuddled than enlightened when Kakashi finished talking. “You took leave to marry me?” Kakashi nodded sharply. “Why? Did my gram– Hiruzen-sama talk you into this?” The omega sounded as curious as he did horrified.

It was then that something Kakashi had been thinking, but not really understanding the ramifications of, really clicked. His pupils shrunk, breath catching in his throat. “You don’t know who I am," he breathed. Kakashi’s thoughts swirled, thinking _how the hell_ someone could be left out of the know, but then, it was obvious.

“I know your name. Hatake Kakashi,” said Iruka, hackles raised a little, albeit cautiously.

_“I feel I must warn you,” Hiruzen said, speaking in grave tones. “Iruka did not grow up in high society the way you and I did.”_

The orphanage. Iruka had grown up in an orphanage and apparently, hell, how great was the chance of that happening really, the omega hadn't picked up on the myriad of rumors going about. That or he'd not connected them to the alpha he'd been made to walk down the isle with. Hiruzen had known though. For some reason he'd not told Iruka — Was that a good thing? If Iruka did not know about Kakashi, his repuation, he'd not know about Kiyome either.

Kakashi looked away, feeling a notion of lightness in his chest that he’d not felt in a long time. “Sorry,” he found it in himself to say. “I’ve stayed away from the village for a long time now. It’s not surprising you don’t know me.” It was, actually. He licked his lips. “You were right to assume I’m with the military. I’m on leave though, not...” _Retired._ Kakashi shuddered. “I have a house here in Konoha.”

Iruka looked up and now that the omega wasn’t putting on a brave front, Kakashi could see the uncertainty in his gaze. Iruka's life had changed overnight, of course he’d be feeling vulnerable, and since Kakashi wasn’t familiar with him or even particularly supportive, he’d withdrawn into his barbed shell. Kakashi felt a wave of tenderness wash over him.

Kakashi held out his palm. The omega looked at it, hesitant to accept.

“Do you want me to leave Konoha?” Iruka’s voice was concerned. Maybe it was his hope, not Hiruzen’s, that he remain in the village.

“No,” Kakashi said. He left out the reasons for it—Since Iruka did not know, there was no use making him worry. “Here.“ Kakashi reached over to take Iruka’s hand since he did not seem keen on giving it up. The omega leaned back, but he did not try to escape Kakashi’s firm but gentle grip.

They walked the rest of the way to the Hatake household in silence, but with heat gathering where Kakashi’s fingers met Iruka’s soft skin. Inside of Kakashi, a soft warmth had began to hum.

—

Iruka touched the cool jewel in his ear gingerly. He’d stared at it in the mirror for a good fifteen minutes, thinking it looked good but weird on him. He knew it marked him as the property of someone else.

“Hatake Kakashi. Kakashi.” Iruka tried the name on his tongue. “Kakashi.” They’d not talked about much beyond Iruka’s alpha stating _he could do whatever he wanted with the kitchen._ Iruka didn’t know how his husband preferred to be referred to. He didn’t know if the kitchen comment was something he should pay attention to. Maybe it was a hint, a way to let Iruka know he was expected to prepare breakfast, lunch and dinner everyday from this point onward. Iruka had no idea how to act married.

A part of Iruka mourned the loss of his old home, the orphanage, though realistically he knew they’d not had room for him. Iruka was far beyond the age of adoption or even moving out on his own—He suspected he’d been allowed to stay so long only because he was omega and because, well, he helped out a lot. He felt like an older brother to the kids and loved them to death. Eventually though, he as much as anyone, was expected to become an adult and take off on wings of his own.

Iruka took another look at the jewel, turning his head so he could see it more clearly. It looked nice. Blue and shiny. Rather expens– Iruka’s thoughts came to a stop, a very, very bad idea occurring to him.

He shouldn’t. He really, really shouldn’t.

Iruka bit his lip, wondering if his husband would be very mad if he sold the proof of their bonding to buy clothes and rice for the kids.

The house was deadly silent when Iruka finally left the confines of the bathroom. A small light in the hallway and the kitchen threw an eerie sort of color to the house, making Iruka imagine the presence of ghosts in the corners. He moved on the balls of his feet, first to the kitchen. He found the kitchen now empty, no surprise there, and the living room dark. That left... Iruka’s eyes trailed the length of the hallway in the other direction. A door had been left ajar at the end, light streaming through the gap.

Iruka approached cautiously, knowing better than to enter an alpha’s bedroom without care. He had his arms wrapped around his core, unwrapping them to knock on the surface of the open door.

“What is it?” the alpha’s voice drawled, honey and something rough. It was different from Hiruzen's voice, but throughly alpha. Iruka wasn't sure what he thought of it.

“I was wondering... Where will I sleep?”

Kakashi stilled, one foot lifted to cross his knee, in the process of removing his socks when Iruka had interrupted him. “Is there something wrong with the bed?” The question was spoken lightly, but Iruka sensed a second meaning to it.

“Um, I-I don’t know where...” Kakashi lifted his mismatched gaze to stare at Iruka. The omega almost took a step back, suddenly hit with the knowledge that this must be why Kakashi kept the one eye covered. His gaze, even the one in the grey eye, was intimidating, made a hundred times worse by the fiery red orb.

“Here.” He said it so simply. Iruka gaped.

“P-Pardon?” he choked.

“You’re sleeping here.” Iruka had heard of alphas raping their mates on the first night of their marriage, but he’d thought that was fairly uncommon — “Don’t look at me like that. Whatever you’re thinking, stop.” Iruka took a step back. Kakashi’s head rose the last inch, the alpha’s gaze full of warning. “If you run, I will chase and catch you,” the alpha promised.

Iruka didn't think. Before he could second guess the reaction originating in his gut, he'd darted away, slamming the door shut in his wake.

“You—Fuck you, omega!”

It wasn't the first time Iruka had ran away, an alpha hot on his heels, and his instincts quickly took over. Iruka ran to the end of the hallway as fast as he could, but at the last second, instead of continuing through the front door, he swerved to his right, into the kitchen, socks skidding in the tight turn. He felt rather than heard the door to the bedroom slam open, no doubt throwing it off its hinges or at least coming very closer to doing so. Iruka didn't even think, he just saw the open window, left that way to 'air out' Kakashi had said, and jumped.

“You..." The alpha sounded choked. "Iruka stop!”

Iruka rolled in the grass and then he was on his feet again, side hurting but barely feeling it, his eyes furiously scanning his surroundings in the dark. The Hatake household had a small yard surrounding the house—Kind of like a manor, but small. Then he heard the weight of bigger feet landing in the grass behind him and Iruka’s stomach lurched.

Iruka raced across the yard, as fast as his feet could make him go, toes curling in the damp grass and propelling him forward. That was when he heard the muttered words, way too close to his ear.  “Fucking omega.” Iruka’s eyes widened, thinking _impossible,_ before in the next moment he felt steel like fingers latch on to his arm, just below the bicep.

Iruka screamed like the dying.

—

“Please stop crying.”

“I’m not crying,” Iruka sobbed, wiping his snot and tears on the back of his arm. On the other side of the bed, Kakashi sighed.

“Did I hurt you? I’m sorry, I was trying to be gentle...”

“No,” Iruka said. He let out another sob before breathing in deeply. “I just freaked out.”

Kakashi let out another breath, looking up at the ceiling.

Iruka’s robes were drenched with tears and snot. He had grass in his hair and he felt miserable, not the least for ruining the clothes his grandfather had loaned him for the occasion.

“Do I need to chain you up for the night or will you stay put?”

“It’s not like I would have ran far,” Iruka muttered, looking away. Petting the material, he wondered absently if the robes had been expensive. Knowing the things the Sarutobi family owned, probably.

“Will you?” Kakashi asked again.

“I won’t run,” Iruka said miserably. Then his eyes fell on Kakashi, causing his thoughts to come to a stuttering stop. "W-Why are you without a shirt?"

“Because I’m getting ready for bed,” was Kakashi’s perfectly logical answer to the omega’s question. His hands went to the fastening on his pants. What the alpha didn’t expect, was to be hit with a pillow for his efforts. Kakashi gaped, unable to believe it. “You didn’t,” he growled, turning to the omega who had a very stubborn look about him.

Kakashi was starting to see why Hiruzen had seen fit to warn him of the omega’s behavior. For that matter, he thought he also had a fairly good grip on why Iruka had been unmarried despite his nineteen, healthy years of age.

“Keep your clothes on,” Iruka said.

“Are you a child?”

Iruka lifted the pillow again.

“Alright, alright,” Kakashi said, jumping off the bed. Growling and muttering under his breath he made way to the dresser.

He couldn’t believe he was being pushed around by an omega. His own no less.

—

Iruka spent the night on the floor. He didn’t delude himself into thinking Kakashi hadn’t noticed it when he’d wrapped the blanket around himself and rolled off the edge, huffing and puffing as he sought to situate himself more comfortably in the space between the bed and the wall. The room was dark, with some light streaming in through the window. For a moment Iruka lay there, with his head on the floor, before reaching up with his arm, feeling around the mattress.

The pillow landed on his face.

“Thanks,” Iruka muttered. He received no answer.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HAPPY BLACK FRIDAY—Here, have a story for free.

Kakashi stared down at his hand, watching the small tremors down his palm and fingers. Even with the ghost of a bond running through him, his body was in shock. Kakashi's mind was too, if he allowed himself to feel any of it. Turning his head, Kakashi let let his gaze drift to the omega sleeping peacefully on his bed. Hair sprawled over Kakashi's pillow, Iruka seemed innocent and pure. An angel. He'd not even stirred when Kakashi moved him and that was beyond adorable. 

Kiyome's betrayal had left Kakashi feeling disgustingly fragile and that was what he resented the most. He didn't do fragile. Kakashi  _laughed_ at fragile. The fact that he dreaded his unavoidable visit to T&I was disturbing to say the least. Being a torture specialist, Ibiki would probably want to hear all the gritty details, making Kakashi repeat the happenings of the past few weeks over and over again until he was reliving them. _Great,_ Kakashi thought bitterly.

The emotion was fleeting as his eyes fell on his omega's face again, wiping away the intense sting of Kakashi's negative emotions. Instead, his chest was filled with pride and hope, a baffling response, but one Kakashi had enough experience with to know it was normal. "You're very pretty, you know that?" Kakashi spoke, not fighting the pull he felt. It would be a pointless endeavor as by the time the bond had strengthened enough, Kakashi would be able to regulate his emotions as per usual.

The bond hummed and Kakashi closed his eyes, basking in the warmth of it. His fingers curled, wanting to touch the omega's no doubt divine skin, his soul saying it would feel _even better,_ but Kakashi held himself back. 

Good things came to those who waited. 

—

Iruka woke up to the prickling of his skin. His first thought was that he must have slept in an odd position, causing his limbs to numb, but then his nose picked up on the strong and musky scent surrounding him. As if electrocuted, Iruka jumped up, almost falling face first to the floor in his haste to get away as the blankets caught on his legs, tripping him. Iruka somehow caught himself on his arms, sliding off the offending piece of furniture and crawling a small distance away before he dared look back at it. 

 _Alpha_ , his nose said. Iruka shuddered. His hackles stood on end, senses alarmed by the scent of a foreign entity,  _clinging_ to him. Iruka brought his arm to his nose. 

It was all because of the bed.  _Kakashi's_ side of the bed. Iruka gaped, suddenly realizing that in order for him to find himself on it, he must have been carried.  “I’ll exchange your toothpaste for soap,” Iruka breathed, a quiet, half-serious threat. He absently patted over his clothes, making certain they had been left untouched. 

Finding his clothes, at least, had not been removed, Iruka padded his way to the door, stopping in front it, seeing a note attached to its surface. The note read

> _Pretend you did not see this_

Iruka’s brows creased, rereading the note a second time before his eyes eventually looked past it, at the wood. It was sunken and splintered under the note, as if someone had planted a fist or a foot to it with great force, and when Iruka pressed the handle to let the door fall open, he found it hanging a bit crooked.

It was... Quite impressive, in a scary way.

“I hope you treat omegas better than you do furniture,” Iruka muttered, giving it one more look before shuffling along.

The rest of the house was, much as the bedroom, quiet, with soft light streaming in through the curtained windows. Iruka glanced into each room as he passed, his curiosity rising as he found each and every one of them empty. Where was Kakashi? Had Iruka been left alone on his first day? 

 _How unusual,_ Iruka mused. 

He found a second note attached to the refrigerator. 

> _I'm out for a while. Don’t leave the house_

There was no signature, but it didn't take a genius to guess who'd left the note. Iruka marveled at the laziness of the script, finding that it represented Kakashi's style perfectly.

As an afterthought the alpha had added,

> _P.S. There’s food_

The note, while causal, was an order from Iruka's alpha husband. Musing on it, Iruka grabbed a banana off the counter, peeling it and starting to munch on the sweet fruit as he thought. What should he do? He'd have to stay inside of the house obviously, lest he be mauled like the bedroom door (ha ha, it seemed pretty funny in retrospection).

What did  _married_ people do while their significant others were out of the house? Iruka thought of dinner, but no, it was way too early for that. Iruka supposed he might do something boring like laundry or cleaning, but he didn't even know where to start. 

Iruka's jaw paused, a thought occurring to him. He'd only seen parts of the house the night before, and shrouded in darkness at that. They’d walked up the narrow path leading from the gate to the porch, the hallway, he'd studied the living room while Kakashi used the bathroom, the kitchen, the bedroom... And if Iruka continued along the hallway past that, to where it turned right at the very end, he found—Ah ha! An unexplored door and a stairway.

If Iruka had a tail, he knew it would be wagging.

__

“Hatake came in this morning.”

“Already?” Utatane looked up in surprise. Mitokado shrugged, in the process of viewing a report and making notes in the margins of it.

“T&I sent word.”

Utatane leaned back in her chair, bringing a hand to her chin, immensely pleased. “That is one good soldier.”

“Duly noted,” was Mitokado’s amused response. Koharu's fondness for those who were excessively duty oriented was well known. The concept of 'a balanced life' had always escaped her. 

Mitokado recalled a time when they'd been on a team together. He did not doubt for one moment that it had been Koharu's, not his or Hiruzen's, ambition that had gotten team Tobirama so far. If she'd been born an alpha, she would no doubt have pushed for Hokage. If her views weren't so traditional, she might have done so as a beta.

"What are you smiling for?" 

"Thinking of my wife," Mitokado lied. 

She certainly had the guts for it. 

__

The door, Iruka discovered, led to a small laundry room. In the cupboards he found folded towels and baskets, to keep dirty laundry in, Iruka suspected. He sniffed the air, finding an opened jar of washing powder.  _Jasmine—_ Iruka snorted, imaging Kakashi in clothes that smelled of flowers. Before new ideas of how he could bully his husband surfaced in Iruka's mind, he lifted his eyes to gaze at the door at the far end of the room. The yard, he guessed, and Iruka was right. Padding his way to the door and turning the handle, finding he had to push at the door with his hip to make it swing open, Iruka was greeted by fresh air and green grass.

The weather was warm, though with a touch of humidity in the air. Iruka supposed he must be on the other side of the house, not the one he'd landed into jumping from the window. Turning on his heel, Iruka thought of the stairway he’d found earlier.

To Iruka’s utter disappointment, he found the upstairs blocked. The stairs ended in a door which, even without trying, Iruka could see had not been used in a while. The very last steps were covered in a thick layer of dust, revealing that though someone had put a great deal of effort into cleaning the house up, they’d not wanted to intrude.

This image was reinforced by the enormous latch on the door, secured by lock. It all made Iruka very curious.

With a disappointed sigh, he turned on his heel to have a look at the yard next.

Iruka didn’t fancy a beating on his first day.

An hour later, Iruka was bored out of his mind. He lay sprawled on the couch, staring absently at the television screen. Iruka didn’t even know what program was running—Some lousy soap, with a main character who cheated on her boyfriend any chance she got, always blaming it on the circumstances.

“Oh come on,” Iruka commented aloud when the woman ‘slipped’ in the showers, conveniently landing in the lap of ‘Kamio-kun’, who also happened to be her sister’s boyfriend. As Iruka had known they would, the two characters promptly began licking each others’ orifices, moaning lewdly and the man’s penis standing up like a rod with the camera focusing on it.

It was shit. The worst TV-program of all time.

 _Why_ did Kakashi have such lousy television?

__

“It’s not like you to be so restless,” Biwako observed.

Hiruzen gave his wife a small smile. “I’m nervous,” he admitted.

“Oh, Iruka-kun married yesterday, did he not?”

Hiruzen nodded. He was glad his wife knew him well enough to guess, though at times he found her keen eye troubling. Biwako Sarutobi was a difficult woman to keep secrets from, though Hiruzen’s job sometimes required that he did.

“It will be fine. Iruka-kun is a darling. Everybody loves him once they’ve had a day or two to get to know him.”

“Kakashi killed his former wife,” Hiruzen said, brows furrowing. Biwako put down her spoon. “I fear that he might not be in the best state of mind presently. I just hope Iruka doesn’t provoke him in some way.” Hiruzen knew his wife would have heard the rumors. He waited, hoping she’d tell him he was worrying in vain, but of course she never lied.

“More soup?” Biwako said, when a moment too long had passed in silence. 

__

Half an hour later Iruka decided that it probably _was_ possible to fall on a man’s penis and accidentally have sex with them. People could slip. Long and narrow things could fall into crevices.

Iruka’s breath hitched as the lock gave a telling ‘click’.

If anybody asked, it was totally 100 percent an accident.

Excitement mounting, Iruka let the door swing open. Behind it, behind the forbidden door leading upstairs, Iruka found... A family shrine. Dumbfounded Iruka stumbled inside, smile slipping. 

The walls were cream white and adorned with old, beautiful paintings of an azure blue sky. Soft light streamed in through a window, daylight casting a warm sheen on the room despite the layers of dust on everything. The memorial had been built against the far wall, photographs arranged along its lower ledge, five in total.

To Iruka it was like stepping into another world. 

He gaped, turning with each step he took, wanting to see every corner of, taking in the private haven that had been hidden upstairs in his new home. There was a wardrobe next to the entrance. On the other wall there was a mirror, one with a dark, delicately carved wooden frame, looking old and expensive. Hesitant to touch anything, Iruka walked around until he came to stand before the photographs, studying each in turn. One photo was of a man, obviously a relative (Kakashi’s father?), standing next to the photograph of a younger, yet adult woman. Next to her, a blonde man making a thumbs up, followed by two minors, a girl and a boy. The boy had been quite young when he died; Iruka estimate only eleven or twelve years. 

Were they friends? Or Kakashi's family? Iruka wished he knew his husband enough to guess who these people were. As he contemplated that, he heard a noise that had his breath catching in his throat. 

A low, drawn-out groan; The front door. Iruka had noted yesterday how terrible it sounded, requiring maintenance. 

Suddenly the prospect of studying the upstairs did not seem like such a great idea. 

 _Holy_ shit—Iruka realized he was in deep trouble. Eyes wide and moving quietly, he gently closed the door, hoping Kakashi would not think to look up the stairs. If the alpha did, he would see the dismantled latch quite quickly. Done, Iruka brought his thumb to his lips, biting the nail on it in an attempt to calm himself. What was he going to do? Kakashi would  _murder_ Iruka if he found out. It was  _a family shrine—_ Not only had Iruka trespassed, he'd trespassed on something very private. On his first day. 

Iruka came to think of the mauled bedroom door. The prospect of it did not seem nearly as amusing as before.

Redoubling his efforts to configure a plan, Iruka scanned the room for clues. On his fourth round, his eyes settled on the window, an odd idea surfacing in his mind. 

Cursing his lousy, curious nature one more time, Iruka hurried his way to the window. Iruka pushed aside the glass and immediately felt a breath of fresh air in his hair. He looked down, shuddering—It was high!—But there was indeed a window below and across him. Biting his lip, Iruka threw one leg over the windowsill.

If Iruka could make it down without being noticed, well.. He'd come up with step two on the way. 

"Steady," Iruka encouraged himself, resolutely not looking down as he began to latch on to the small points of traction along the wall. 

The process of climbing along the wall reminded him eerily of the time he’d decided to steal Hokage Danzo’s underwear and hang it over the entrance at the Hokage tower. Not his smartest idea, that one (The fact that people who openly hated Iruka had rushed in to erase all evidence before their esteemed leader could catch on had clued him in), but only Iruka's fingers had ached for days afterwards. Hiruzen had gasped seeing the route Iruka had taken. Iruka had been smal—

Iruka let out a cry, metal screeching as the gutter he was holding on to suddenly began to fall, fall, fall, Iruka clawed for traction but there was no way to stop it, his eyes wide, feeling desperate—When suddenly the next fastenings held, jerking Iruka to a stop. He held on to the gutter with both arms, breathing hard and shaking like a leaf. 

That was when he realized he was right in front of the window, with perfect view inside. In the middle of the kitchen, sword held in a surprised, slackened grip, stood a masked man. 

Iruka never meant to let go, but flinching, his grip slipped. "Oof!" he groaned, coming in contact with the ground.

The window opened. "A... Are you..." The person paused, unsure how to continue. For an intruder he was acting oddly flustered. Clearing his throat, the intruder, the  _alpha_ said, voice deep and rumbling, like gravel being rolled down the side of a hill, "Do you know which omega Hatake Kakashi married?" 

 _Holy shit,_ thought Iruka lying on his back in the grass. 

__

Kakashi tapped his thigh restlessly. The urge to check up on his omega was almost irresistible. It was standard procedure to make people wait so they’d be more inclined to speak their mind once they crossed the threshold, but Kakashi had an omega waiting for him at home. An omega who, for all purposes, owned his sanity. It seemed as if they were intent on pissing him off permanently. 

Finally, _finally_ someone came for him, but it wasn’t Ibiki.

“What happened?” Kakashi said, already out of his chair, seeing Sarutobi Hiruzen’s grave face.

“Assassins,” was all the other alpha said and it was all he needed to. Kakashi lost all color, an old record playing in his mind's eye. 

_Not again._

His next thought was,  _Konoha was supposed to be safe._


	3. A Youthful Date... With Destiny

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NOTE: I did only a quick edit on this chapter. It may (or may not) be noticeable. May come back to finetune it later. For now just enjoy the fact that I've ACTUALLY POSTED SOMETHING! It must be the holiday spirit.

_What a shitty liar,_ Iruka thought, befuddled.

“I’m looking for them because… It’s a favor. For a friend.” The masked man coughed into his fist. “I mean, I’m a friend of Kakashi’s.”

“Me too,” Iruka said smoothly. He was a bit ashamed of how easily the lie came to him. _Sorry gramps._ “A friend of Kakashi’s, I mean.” His husband’s name felt weird on his tongue. It _had_ been less than a day since they married. “He asked me to help out with gardening. You know, because of the state of the house.”

“On the roof?”

Iruka stood up, rubbing his hands on his pants to clean them of dirt. “I was having a look at the structures. Some of them are in quite bad shape. I’m sure you know the house hasn’t been lived in for quite some time.”

The alpha let out a befuddled ‘oh’.

Was this guy for real? Iruka narrowed his eyes studying him. The alpha’s uniform looked terrifying, it was an almost exact replica of what he’d seen Danzo’s personal guards wearing when on duty outside the Hokage’s office, but the man’s demeanor… Not so much. He _fidgeted_ under Iruka’s stare. 

“Did you get that out of a joke shop?” Iruka asked.

The alpha stilled. “Pardon?”

“Never mind,” Iruka said, waving a hand in the air. He didn’t care honestly. He just wanted to get away from this weirdo—and hoped this wasn’t a sign that his husband was part of a uniform fetish group or something. He thought of the perverted movies he'd accidentally come across. “I should probably go inform Ha—I mean Kakashi,” Iruka covered his fumble with a bright smile. “Of the damage to his house. It was nice to meet you, Alpha-san. I hope you have better luck with your task than I did with mine.”

“I… Yes. Have a good day.”

 _Weird,_ Iruka thought turning on his heel. It figured that a scary-uniform alpha breaking into their house would have good manners.

“Wait,” the alpha said quickly and Iruka might have boldly  _not_ heard if not for the edge to his tone. Iruka paused politely, looking over his shoulder to see the alpha had moved closer to the window. “You," the alpha said suspiciously. "Are you an omega?” Iruka’s eyes widened. The man could tell at this distance?

The alpha, not as stupid as he’d seemed earlier, lifted his sword in response to Iruka’s silence, light gleaming on its perfectly sharpened blade.

Iruka backed away. “I… I can explain. I mean, you must be mistaken.”

The alpha jumped up on the windowsill with the grace of a cat. He looked down at Iruka through the small holes in his mask that made the eyes. _Predator._ Iruka shuddered.  He swore he’d never think badly of a stranger again if he made it out of this alive.

He turned on his heel and ran.

* * *

 

Alphas were naturally fast and strong, but Iruka wasn’t no pushover either. His success rate pranking all of Konoha was proof of that—hell, he even managed to evade Hyuuga Hiashi after he accidentally killed the man’s goldfish with a spilled bottle of hair dye. (Never mind how that came to happen).  The point was, in the right circumstances and with enough of a head start Iruka was nearly un-catchable. Sure, Kakashi got lucky the day before, but—

Iruka’s eyes widened as he felt fingers clasp his shoulder.

He’d not even heard the alpha closing in on him, the man’s feet quiet like a ghost’s in the grass. Iruka felt his world tilt in a way that was all too familiar and he thought, _how?_

This alpha was not as gentle as Kakashi had been, nor did he care to soften Iruka’s fall. Iruka hit the ground hard, pain soaring through his right shoulder. Iruka opened his mouth only to find a hand slapping over his lips.

He was terrified. Iruka tried to see out of the corners of his eyes, struggling in the alpha’s grip, but the alpha used his weight to press Iruka down.

“Don’t make this harder on you than it needs to be. I don’t want to cause you any undue pain. Stay quiet and…“ The alpha trailed off. Iruka struggled to understand his assailant’s unexpected pause when he realized the alpha’s mask was tilted down—Eyeholes with perfect view of Iruka’s thighs. Where one of his hands rested dangerously close to Iruka’s groin. “S-Sorry.” The alpha lifted his hand awkwardly.

Using the moment of distraction, Iruka brought their heads together in a head butt. The alpha didn’t expect that; Iruka couldn’t see his eyes, but he fell back, stiff with shock. Iruka’s head was reeling too.

“N-No, shtop!” the alpha said when he realized what Iruka ended, holding his nose over the mask. Iruka was already moving away from him, tumbling sideways. He managed to get his feet under him and took off at full speed, aiming for the gate.

It stood ajar.

 

* * *

 

Kakashi ran into Ibiki on his way up from T&I.

“Where is he?” Kakashi snarled, grabbing on to the beta’s powerful arm. Ibiki pried Kakashi’s fingers off one by one, as patiently as only a torture expert could. 

They’d served in the army together, knew each other as intimately as only people who’d seen mutual friends die could, yet Kakashi had never felt particularly inclined to act nice around the man.

"Your neighbor is ex ANBU as you know,” Ibiki said calmly. “She reported suspicious activity. They, your omega and the suspect, left the house. That is all we know."  

Kakashi clenched his jaws. "Ex ANBU and she didn't do anything about it?"

Ibiki gave him a look. "She was ex ANBU by the time you were born." 

 _Useless,_ Kakashi thought in disgust, leaving the beta to storm outside. Nobody tried to stop him, though a female beta handling paperwork in the lobby eyed him nervously as he passed.

 

* * *

 

Ibiki clapped his hands to gain his staff’s attention. “Let’s get back to work.” They nodded and scurried along.

 _Good,_ Ibiki thought with satisfaction. It was looking to be a nice, exciting day at work.

He loved his job.

 

* * *

 

Iruka curled his toes and clenched his glutes speeding across the lawn. He ran faster than fastest, motivated by honest terror—It didn’t take him long to reach the gate. He was almost through it when the sound of something flying through the air had him swiveling at the last second—something long and sharp sunk into the wood with a thud. Iruka gasped, a new wave of adrenaline pumping through his veins at the sight of the gleaming hilt.

He took one look over his shoulder, saw the alpha with his arm slung forward. The alpha slowly straightened out, in no hurry. He knew as well as Iruka he would never make it to the gate in time to stop the omega. Maybe he was hoping Iruka would grab the sword and try to fight him.

Iruka slunk past the sword, out on the street. The gravel hurt his bare feet, but he made it to the main street, which was bustling at this time of day. Though he couldn’t see anyone when he looked over his shoulder, Iruka dodged in and out of shops to shake off a possible pursuer.  He even took the shortcut over the butcher’s stall (“Hey, cretin! I’ve told you not to do tha’!”). He was paranoid that he would be followed even as his plain sense said there would be more of a commotion going on if a masked man was seen following him with a sword.

When Iruka finally allowed himself to come to a stop he was slick with sweat, eyeing the street around him anxiously. A woman stared at him, but she turned away quickly when Iruka met her gaze.

Iruka swallowed, lowering his head. He took off at a brisk walk, brushing hair out of his eyes.

Okay, so he wasn’t dead. What now? Where would he go? Not to the Hatake household, that was for sure.  He thought of the orphanage, but then crossed it off as too dangerous. He didn’t want to endanger the kids on the off chance the masked madman was still after him.

The Sarutobis’? Biwako-san would be at home and she was terrifying, but maybe not able to fight off an alpha with a sword. Hiruzen wouldn’t get back until later in the evening.

Maybe Iruka should wait it out and head there later. Yeah, that sounded like a plan.

Iruka was too deep in thought to look ahead of him when he ran into a large, strong body. Iruka gasped, flailing with his arms as he fell backwards—only to be caught by his waist like a heroine in a movie.

“Pardon my clumsiness, Oh Beautiful Soul! It Horrifies me to think I might have injured such a…” The alpha paused to actually look at Iruka. Iruka blinked, blinded by the man’s hair. His _hair._ It was that shiny. 

And he was so _green._ Who was this man? Iruka sniffed. An alpha—Iruka was _certain_ he’d remember seeing a man as eccentric as this one.

The alpha gasped, seeming to decide what Iruka was. _“A Shining Example of Youth!”_

…What?

The alpha set him down as gently as a flower. Iruka could only stare, mumbling his thanks.

“Oh, it pains me that I have erred in such a way. To think I could have harmed such a Beautiful Creature due to my inattentiveness.” Maybe the alpha was suffering of poor eye sight. Iruka thought of his uncombed hair and worn out t-shirt, which remained glued to his back due to the quickly cooling sweat. “Unforgivable! You must allow me to redeem myself by treating you to a drink. No! A drink _and_ lunch. No! A drink and lunch _and—“_

“It’s okay, honestly,” Iruka said quickly, desperate to interrupt the man. People were starting to take notice, staring openly, but Mr. Bowlcut seemed entirely obvious to it all. “I wasn’t looking where I was going either. No harm done. You don’t need to…” Did the man actually use the word _redeem?_ “Reimburse me in any way.”

The alpha gasped dramatically. “I have inadvertly insulted you!”

“No, no!” Iruka hurried to assure. The alpha looked up, eyes pitifully full of hope. “I…” Iruka resisted eyes like that every day at the orphanage. He had a _will of steel_ — “Okay,” Iruka found himself saying. The alpha beamed.  

Iruka deflated. _This_ was why he still lived, until yesterday, at the orphanage despite the younger kids driving him crazy.

Well, at least he gained himself a free lunch.

 

* * *

 

Gai, as Iruka found his name was, was just as interesting company as he seemed at first glance. He had super high energy and obviously high standards when it came to gentlemanly behavior—Iruka could only smile behind his hand as the alpha hurried out of his seat to help a pregnant woman with her tray.

 _Definitely_ interesting. Also weird, but in a most entertaining way.

Gai also had lots of interesting stories to tell. Iruka couldn’t tell how much of what he said was true—Not that Iruka thought Gai would _lie,_ but he embellished to the point of making it seem as if the people in his stories were from another universe—but he spoke of people kindly and with obvious fondness.

Iruka learned of his student Lee, whom Gai saw a lot of potential in despite Lee’s many struggles (A Magnificent, Most Youthful Soul!), an Eternal Rival who was so hip and cool Gai would have to do his utmost to surpass him one day (Gai leaned close, a bit too close for Iruka’s comfort, the man was an alpha, to whisper in his ear. “We are at 51-50 currently. My rival is currently in the lead, but I will catch up to him in our next challenge!”). Gai could talk an incredibly long time without pause or input and as Iruka’s stomach filled with the chicken curry he had ordered, his eyes started to feel heavy.   

Initially, he had been paranoid about watching the shop entrance, but when he realized he barely reacted to the sound of the bell ringing, announcing a new visitor, Iruka decided it was time to call it a day.

“Thank you, but I think it’s time I—“

“Gai, what the hell do you think you’re doing?”

Any further word’s on Iruka’s tongue died hearing his husband’s voice. He snapped upright, suddenly fully awake. Kakashi, looking murderous, placed a hand on the table separating Iruka and Gai.

“Eternal Rival! What a Pleasant Coincidence. I was just on my way to congratulate when I ran into this Fair Omega… Though I must ask,” Gai’s eyes narrowed on Kakashi. “Should you not be in the presence of your fair bride?”

Kakashi’s eye was curved in a smile, but the happier he looked, the more the temperature in the shop seemed to drop. Iruka leaned as far into the cushions as he could, hoping he would be forgotten.

 “I would be,” Kakashi said. “If people didn’t keep getting in the way.”

“It wasn’t him,” Iruka said quickly, afraid that heads might start rolling if he failed to convince Kakashi of Gai’s innocence.

A look of annoyance flashed on Kakashi’s face as he said, “I know.” Iruka puzzled over this until he saw the look in Gai’s eyes. “Assassins,” Kakashi said lowly, barely a murmur. It seemed to be enough.

“Again?” Gai breathed.

Kakashi paused, as if brought off thought. “Yes,” he said finally. “ANBU are looking into it.”

“And...” Gai’s eyes slid to Iruka as if sensing there was more to the story.  Iruka realized with a flash that their positions, sharing a meal where Gai was obviously the one treating him, might seem a bit suggestive.

“Yes. Then there’s the other thing.” Kakashi paused purposefully. “Which reminds me. Gai, do you mind stepping outside with me for a minute?”

Iruka, absolutely horrified, gasped, “No way! No way! You think I don’t realize what that means?”

“Do not worry, Fair Flower. Kakashi is a honorable man,” Gai stated as he stood up from his seat. “I will be quite safe with him—“ Iruka flinched at the sound of fist meeting flesh. Gai's body smashed into the table across from theirs. The lady a few tables away dropped her cup with a startled shriek.

Kakashi, nursing his fist, seemed quite satisfied with himself.

“I thought you were supposedly honorable!” Iruka said.

“He knew it was coming,” Kakashi said as a way of explanation. He looked to Iruka. “Are you hurt?”

 “I…  No, I’m okay. ” Iruka wrapped his arms around himself, brows creasing. "See, I know you're upset, maybe upset is not the right word, but anyway, the thing is, I’m only here with Gai-san because earlier today a masked man actually broke into our house..."  
  
"He was wearing a mask?" Kakashi interrupted.  
  
"I... Yes."  
  
"What kind?"  
  
"White..."  
  
"With markings?" Kakashi painted across his cheeks with his finger. Iruka watched the curious gesture, but had to shake his head.  
  
"Just white," Iruka said. "He had a sword though." Kakashi's fingers twitched at his side. The alpha put his right hand into the pocket on that side, hiding his fingers or trying to restrain them.  
  
All the while Gai had sat up, an equally worried look on his face.

"How did you run into him?" Kakashi used his head to indicate Gai.  
  
"I ran into him," Iruka said, rubbing his arm. "Literally."  
  
"And decided to enjoy a cup of tea with him?" Iruka's gaze slid from Kakashi to Gai and back. He was pretty there was something about the conversation that he didn’t get. On the floor, Gai cleared his throat.  
  
"Rival, though things no doubt must have appeared bad, I must remind you how difficult it would be to turn down an invitation from someone as Charming as I—"  
  
"Gai, not now," Kakashi interrupted, his eyes on Iruka the entire time. "You, we’re going home."  
  
"Home? But that's where..."  
  
"The ANBU will have swept it by now. Plus I'll be there. They won't dare make a move while I'm keeping an eye on you. Shit," Kakashi let out a shuddering breath, raking his fingers through silver hair as he turned.

"What?" Iruka said.  
  
"Nothing." Kakashi said, his gaze coming to rest on Iruka again. Iruka furrowed his brows. “Come. We’re leaving.”  Iruka stood up warily, darting a look at the alpha at Kakashi's feet. Gai had a put off look on his face and now, seeing his face properly, Iruka could tell he was bruising, but he didn’t act like Kakashi had left him in a lot of pain.

As Iruka was looking at Gai, Kakashi stepped in the way once again. Iruka lifted his eyes to his husband’s single one. It contained something dark and unkind. Iruka didn’t know what it was. He stood up, puzzled but not of a mind to fight the situation.

What a day, he thought.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again with a quick edit. Will prioritize regualar posts over immaculate editing for a while because no matter what I do, things just don't seem to settle the way I imagine them in my head. Nevertheless, it is a happy day! Another post! Yaay!

Kakashi rubbed the bridge of his nose to calm his brewing nerves. It wasn’t his omega’s fault, though Iruka certainly wasn’t helping any.

Ever since the day the assassin had slunk into their home, Kakashi had not been able to let the omega out of his sight. Even when Iruka went to the bathroom he would be listening in, relocating himself so he had better access to the door. He’d guard the door. Watch the windows. Wait, was that running water or was Iruka’s trying to muffle sounds?

No, that’s silly, Kakashi convinced himself. Yet he couldn’t help the thoughts running rampart in his mind.

“I want to go outside,” Iruka called from the bathroom. He opened the door and scowled when he saw Kakashi leaning into the opposing wall, book held to his face.

Kakashi was _just_ reading. It was sheer coincidence that he’d ended up there.

“No,” Kakashi said, turning a page.

“You can’t keep me locked away like an animal. I’m my own person! I get to decide what I do and where I go.”

“Correction, you’re _my_ person now. Before that you belonged to your parents. Though living in an orphanage may have confused things, technically you always belonged to a third party.”

Iruka lashed out with his arm, causing a very expensive pot to drop to the floor. Kakashi didn’t mind. It was his late aunt’s and he hated the thing.

“I hate you!” Iruka shouted right in Kakashi’s face.

That Kakashi minded. A little.

Kakashi turned a page. His pulse was starting to rise, the bond responding to his omega’s upset, _I hate you_ echoing in Kakashi’s head, but he made sure to let none of that show. “That’s too bad. Your opinion isn’t really important.”

It was his job as the alpha to keep his omega in check. Iruka had not grown up in high society, he’d been too free most of his life, but he’d learn. Kakashi reminded himself of this when Iruka stared at him with pure murder in his eyes, fist clenching beside his body. Kakashi tensed, thinking for one moment the brat would be stupid enough to try and fight him.

Iruka spit him in the face. It landed on Kakashi’s right cheek, seeping through his mask.

Kakashi shut his book. “One hint,” he said calmly. “You do that again and I’m chaining you to our bed.”

Iruka did it again.

_The son of a bitch—_

 

* * *

Keeping Iruka handcuffed to the bedpost actually helped calm Kakashi’s frayed nerves, so it wasn’t all bad. It was much easier to keep an eye on his omega like this and Kakashi even found himself _trusting_ Iruka more—As long as there wasn’t anything Iruka could throw at him across the room. Kakashi wasn’t surprised by the omega’s threats to pee in the bed, but he wasn’t surprised either when it turned out Iruka was too smart to do so, knowing he’d have to lie in it for hours if Kakashi refused to unchain him. It was a battle of wills, with Kakashi holding the key.

Until Iruka changed tactics.  

“I wish I’d been married to Gai-san instead.”

Kakashi, who had pretended ignorant all this time except to intercept incoming projectiles, looked up over his book. He smiled as much as he could with the mask. “Too bad your opinion isn’t really important.”

Iruka sighed, faking, poorly, a wistful expression. He was a terrible actor, yet Kakashi felt his gut twist. Dumb bond. “He had such muscular arms. Did you hear I ran into him? Of course you did, but I would have _fallen over_ if he didn’t catch me in his arms, holding me,” the omega paused, thinking of an appropriate wording. “Gently, as if I were a flower.”

Kakashi shuddered. It hurt his pride to admit it, but in that moment he wanted nothing more than to throttle Gai. The bond protested loudly.  _See? He’s unhappy with us!_

Kakashi didn’t want to give in. If he kept Iruka chained to his bed forever Gai wouldn’t be a threat. Wait, no—That meant Kakashi couldn’t leave the house either. Shit. Kakashi stood up, turning to face the wall while he tried to put order to his thoughts. Was he insane? Since when had he thought it might be a good idea to keep an omega at his side by chaining them… Kakashi’s eyes drifted to the omega on his bed. Iruka had a perfectly innocent look on his face and unlike his earlier acting, it was near perfect.

 _This one deserves it,_ Kakashi couldn’t help but think.

Nevertheless, it wouldn’t be a long-term plan. Kakashi would have to leave the house eventually and he shuddered at the thought of asking someone to come check up on his omega while he was away.

“Let me out of these chains and I’ll behave,” Iruka bargained.

“You’re not leaving the house.” Not yet. Kakashi didn’t want to consider the prospect of him leaving it ever.

Iruka frowned, but he didn’t argue. “For now,” he agreed, and it was close enough for Kakashi to accept the peace offering. He threw Iruka the keys and the omega scrambled to unlatch himself, doing so with surprising ease.

 

* * *

 

“Idiot,” Iruka murmured, washing his hands in the bathroom. His eyes were on the small window high on the far wall. He left the water running as he dried his hands.

It would be a tight fit, but Iruka was good with those.

 

* * *

 

“Iruka!” Kotetsu gaped seeing his friend. Iruka waved, grinning.

“Hullo,” he said sitting down at the table with his friend. “Where’s Izumo?” Iruka looked around, but despite the bar being quite busy at this time, Kotetsu’s best friend was nowhere to be seen.

“He’s in the bathroom but never mind that. I didn’t think I’d see you  here so soon.” Ever. “How are things with your husband?”

Iruka waved his hand to calm his friend’s barrage of questions. “Kakashi is cool. He didn’t mind me going out when I said I was coming to meet you guys.”

“Really?” Kotetsu looked surprised, rightfully so. It was common for friends to drop out from bar meet-ups when they got married, that is, unless they were alphas. Iruka looked away so he wouldn’t feel too bad to be lying to his friend. He told himself it wasn’t _really_ lying since Iruka was betting on him finding out.

“Really. For now—Oh, there’s Izumo!” Iruka bounced up, waving with both his arms. Izumo stilled in his tracks, looking absolutely thunderstruck.

“I-Iruka?” Izumo stuttered coming closer to them. He exchanged looks with Kotetsu, but his friend could only shrug. “This is… A surprise.”

 “I came out to celebrate with your guys. Kotetsu, go order me a drink. You know what I like.” Since they didn’t serve omegas. Wait, if Kakashi gave him permission, would the bartender start serving him directly?

Kotetsu looked hesitant, but he got up, walking up to the bar in a daze.

“Celebrating what?” Izumo asked. His eyes darted to Iruka’s ear, where the Hatake jewel glistened. “Your—“

“Freedom,” Iruka said, taking Kotetsu’s glass and emptying the rest of it in his mouth.

 

* * *

 

It didn’t take Kakashi long to figure out he was gone. Iruka was actually a bit impressed. Less than fifteen minutes since he’d arrived at the bar, drinking less than half of his Cherry Bomb, people around him went silent. When he looked up it was to see Kotetsu’s face had gone deadly pale and Izumo put a hand on his shoulder to give a comforting squeeze. To give _Kotetsu_ a comforting squeeze.

“Good evening, gentlemen,” Kakashi said, smiling his cheesy and totally false eye-smile. “I seem to have… Misplaced my omega. It’s nice of you to have looked after him for me.”

Iruka set his jaw, daring his husband to do something in public. The look Kakashi gave him said the alpha would. Quickly, Iruka grabbed his drink and began to empty it, intending to finish it before he was dragged away, but found it yanked away almost as soon as the first drop of taste spread on his tongue.

“Hey!” Iruka said, aware of the people watching them. Appalled by his manners, no doubt, because an omega was meant to sit back and just take it. “I was drinking that!”

Kakashi set the glass on the table, purple liquid swirling in the glass. “You’re finished.”

“No, I’m not—“

Iruka felt fingers on his neck and he was yanked out of his chair. He let out a high-pitched cry, more startled than anything, and began to claw at the hand, only to find its target had changed, taking Iruka by his wrist and twisting it behind his back. A few paces away he could see Kotetsu draw crosses over his heart— _hopefully_ praying for Iruka’s life and not for his own, the coward.

“We’re leaving,” Kakashi said in his neck, tightly and with just a bit of a snarl in it. Iruka felt his toes curling inside of his shoes. The alpha was angry, no, livid. It was what Iruka had been aiming for, but this was more than that.

 

* * *

 

“You don’t need to be so heavy-handed,” Iruka complained as they walked out of the bar. The sun was starting to set, with street lamps slowly turning on. Kakashi could only be grateful that his omega had chosen a decently reputable establishment and not one of those filthy hell-holes on the other side of town. It wasn’t far from the Hatake compound.

“Are you an alcoholic?”

Iruka gaped. “Excuse me?”

Kakashi’s brows tightened. “I said, are you an alcoholic? If you are, it stops now.”

Iruka gaped some more, before seeming to get a grip of himself. “Okay, first things first. You can’t just _decide_ something like that.”

“I can. I’m your alpha.”

“ _No,”_ Iruka said, spreading his arms. “You can’t. _Nobody_ can decide something like that. Even if I was, it would take time for something like that to cease being. Hey, I get it that the bond-thingy is making you stupid, but try to _think_ for one second. In case you haven’t noticed it, you’re being completely irrational, like seriously irrational. Crazy irrational.”

“I know,” Kakashi said clenching his teeth. Iruka looked surprised to hear that. “And you’re not helping.” Iruka opened his mouth.

“So now you blame _me—“_

“I’m this close from snapping,” Kakashi interrupted, holding out his two fingers to indicate an inch or so. _Snapping your neck,_ he wanted to say, but thankfully he refrained. He wasn’t that far gone yet. “The only thing keeping me relatively sane is the bond, which has not been consummated, someone tried to break it _with a katana_ just a few days ago and now you’re threatening it by saying you want to marry my annoying sidekick and hey, you might be an alcoholic _._ Not to forget that you threatened to pee in my bed, asshole.”

 _Finally_ his omega seemed at a loss of words.

Kakashi felt small quivers rock his body and he hoped it wouldn’t be as apparent to his omega as it was to him. It was a sign of weakness, one he would never allow himself normally, but as of late he’d found  himself and his emotions being yanked around by outside circumstances like a donkey tied to a cart. The evening air was starting to cool. Iruka stood in front of him in only a t-shirt, he’d escaped through the tiny window in the bathroom for Heaven’s sake, and now he clutched at his body like a shivering little princess.

 _More like a pirate though,_ Kakashi thought to himself, though the bond obviously disagreed. _Something that needs to be protected._   

“Here,” Kakashi said, taking off his sweater and handing it to Iruka. The omega stared at it like it might be a trap. “Just take it. Don’t argue about this.”

“Then you’ll be cold though,” Iruka mumbled, but he put the sweater on without further complaints. As he did, his nose scrunched up.

“It’s straight out of the wash,” Kakashi said before the omega could claim something else. This nasty, spoilt little—

“That’s not it. Just, “ Iruka looked up at him, lips pursed. “You have a very distinct scent.”

Great. So now they weren’t scent-compatiable, if there was such a thing. Kakashi wished he could vanish behind a corner and kick something really hard. He’d _never_ had to work so hard for a bond-mate before, he’d thought being married to a prostitute might be his worst case scenario but he’d not suspected that his omega might actually _hate_ him.

Wasn’t the bond supposed to affect omegas too?

“Let’s just go home,” Kakashi growled and for once Iruka obeyed easily.

 

* * *

 

Iruka touched the smooth fabric. It was soft and warm against his hand, from him now, not the remains of Kakashi’s body temperature. He breathed in and felt anxiety curl in his stomach. _Alpha,_ his mind whispered. Oddly enough he’d managed to forget it for a good period of the day, his ire acting as an effective buffer. The assassin episode had thrown him off kilter for sure, but there was something else, something that had to do with his mysterious husband. Was it normal to feel so uneasy around someone you’d married?

Iruka shivered, placing the folded sweater down where Kakashi was sure to find it in the morning. He’d think about things later. Maybe he just needed to get used to his alpha’s scent.

Iruka wasn’t sure he ever would.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! Thank you everyone who is reading and/or commenting. It gives me a lot of confidence. I don't always feel too confident in my writing, but in this chapter there are parts that I actually like a lot. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Nevermind the switching between past and present tense O///O But imperfections are beautfiful, no?

Kakashi is on the couch again, limbs sprawled like a lazy cat’s, book in hand, pretending to read while Iruka pretends to watch the lousy sitcom on TV. Secretly they’re keeping an eye on each other. It's something they've done a lot of lately.

Iruka notes that though hilariously awful, the sitcom's not the same as the stuff he watched on his first night in the house. It's romantic, but not perverted; On the TV screen the main character, Mari, bawls as a boquet of roses is thrust her way. It’s the first time ever that she has been propositioned – Or so she thinks, because she is suffering of a very specific type of amnesia where she forgets all love offers sent her way. Due to this she mistakenly thinks that nobody is interested in her and the sitcom centers around her daily struggles with low self-esteem and the many suitors’ increasingly hilarious attempts at garnering her attention.

Iruka’s eyes lower from the screen to the space underneath the television. The assortment of movies that he’d found on his first day have mysteriously disappeared.

”How are you feeling?” Kakashi drawls, breaking the silence.

"Fine," Iruka says. After a pause, thinking it only polite to return the question, "You?" Kakashi glances at him. Iruka isn’t sure if that’s a sign of approval or what.

"Fine," Kakashi says.

It's terribly awkward. Iruka wonders if its foretaste of what their entire marriage will be like.

 

* * *

 

Iruka still sleeps in the gap between the bed and the wall. Every morning, after Iruka has woken up and left the bedroom, Kakashi makes the bed and pointedly folds Iruka’s blankets on one side of it, but he never protests when Iruka grasps them again the next night to curl up in the gap between the bed and the wall. It’s the only housework Kakashi does in addition to cooking duty—Iruka is in charge of laundry and general housekeeping—But he never forgets and the fact they’ve never talked about it makes Iruka think there might be a message hidden in the gesture.

He remains blissfully ignorant of any such messages.

It’s been two weeks since Iruka moved in and though he’s had some trouble adjuting (oh god the amount of tears the first time he visited the orphanage after moving away. Even Kakashi looked a bit damp eyed aftet that episode) he has to admit that living in the Hatake household is… Not awful. Not as awful as it could have been anyway.

Iruka thinks he’s a pretty good housewife. He hasn’t ruined any of his husband’s clothes; the one time he felt tempted to wash them with too much flower scented detergent he valiantly overcame the urge. Though his cooking skills are passable at best, Iruka always carries half the groceries home from the supermarket (despite Kakashi's protests) and he's not half bad at all-round housekeeping. Though there is little snot, spit or vomit to clean up in the Hatake household he manages to keep all kinds of disgusting things in check, attacking them with vigor.

Except for one thing.

Iruka stares at the traces on their bathroom tiles. They’re white, slightly yellowish and first he took them for lathered toothpaste, but somehow... He knows they're not.

He’s wearing yellow rubber gloves, the thick, good kind that protect his arm up to the elbow and a mask to protect him from the fumes of whatever detergent he uses, but it doesn’t feel nearly protective enough. Not to face _this._ It is a suspicious white stain and though Iruka hasn’t thought about it, of course it makes sense that Kakashi might… That his husband might want to… Iruka flinches away, turns on his heel and is about to escape the bathroom when he almost runs into his alpha.

Iruka’s eyes widen and he stares up into Kakashi’s eyes, which both have been left uncovered.

”You okay?” Kakashi asks, his voice low, nothing suspicious about it, yet Iruka finds himself shivering, shifting further away.

”I-I’m…” Iruka grasps for words. Kakashi’s eyes are thoughtful, staring at him and then past Iruka into the bathroom.

Kakashi walks past him. Iruka can only swirl in place, squeezing the sponge in his hand close to his chest. Kakashi takes a sweeping look around the room, and when his eyes land in the general area of the, er, suspicious stain, Iruka stiffens. Kakashi’s eyes immediately focus on the stain.

”Oh sorry. I must have spilled hair gel earlier.”

”Hair gel?” Iruka repeats dumbly. Kakashi looks up at him, acting completely normal, and he grabs the sponge from Iruka’s grasp.

”You don’t need to clean up my messes of course. I must have been distracted earlier. I’ll clean it up. You go start up dinner, okay? I already took out the vegetables.”

Start up dinner. Cut up vegetables. Right. ”Okay,” Iruka says, turning around, already feeling his cheeks and ears heat.

 _Hair gel?_ Oh god, and he thought—Iruka squeezes his head between his hands, so, so embarrassed and now Kakashi must think he’s a real jerk for acting so shocked at the thought of cleaning up something of Kakashi’s. Iruka isn’t _that_ petty. Sure, if Kakashi was a complete pig he might have a problem with it, but the alpha is actually pretty decent. Iruka shakes his head, to rid himself of silly, silly thoughts, and he redicrects his attention to helping Kakashi prepare food.

”The game isn’t over yet, Umino,” he says quietly to himself. ”You can still redeem yourself at dinner.”

When Kakashi comes back to the kitchen, all the vegetables have been cut up and Iruka beams at the alpha. Kakashi’s look is tentative, like he’s not sure how to read the situation.

 

* * *

 

Their awkward interactions continue. Kakashi keeps asking, "How are you feeling?" and Iruka does his best to respond in ways that allow conversation to continue. He fails a lot. Kakashi keeps asking.

It's pretty weird.

 

* * *

 

The next Wednesday is the first day Kakashi leaves Iruka alone at the house. ”Just a couple of hours. I’ll lock the gate when I go.”

”It’s okay. I’m not concerned,” Iruka says. Kakashi hesitates, but he leaves with a small nod.

 

* * *

 

”How is—”

”Horribly. Don’t ask,” Kakashi says to Asuma, who gapes wide enough that he’ll drop his cigarette if he’s not careful. Kakashi gestures to the bartender. ”Something strong.”

”Rival,” Gai says from his other side, frowning. Even to the bar, Gai is wearing his trademark green jumpsuit. Not that Kakashi is one to talk, he’s wearing uniform too. ”Are you sure you should leave your Fair Flower alone at this time. You do know…” His eyebrows jump meaningfully.

”No danger of that,” Kakashi dismisses him. The bartender pushes a glass towards him. Kakashi takes hold of it and downs it in one gulp.

 _Shit,_ it’s strong, burning down his throat and behind his eyelids. He almost begins to cough and Gai must sense that from his expression. The Blue but actually green Beast of Konoha hits him on the back until Kakashi swats him away.

He can appreciate the sentiment, but he _hates_ people touching him. Especially when it’s Gai’s touchy, feely, wandering hands.

”Trouble in paradise?” Asuma asks, and at least he manages to look like he doesn’t care much, though the covert looks he keeps sending Kakashi give him away.

”I don’t want to talk about it,” Kakashi says, just as the vertigo first hits him. He doesn’t drink often so when he does consume some alcohol, especially the strong kind, he feels it fast.

The truth is, he doesn’t know _how_ to explain the situation without seeming like a complete loser. His failure with his newest mate is at such epic proportions he doesn’t know if anything like it has happened in history. If there was one thing Kakashi was confident about, it was his credentials in two things; He’s strong and he’s got decent money. Usually that is enough to make people at least moderately interested in him even if they do know the shit that comes with being his mate.

Iruka doesn’t seem to care. He doesn’t seem to _mind_ the house or the money, but he speaks of the Orphanage, old, rundown and _an old shoe factory for goodness sake_ , with so much more warmth that it leaves Kakashi with no doubt of where he would rather live. And the one time Kakashi made a deliberate attempt to brag about his prowess in matters of military nature, Iruka just said: ”Oh, so that’s why you lived away from Konoha so long.”

It makes Kakashi go _insane_ in ways completely different from what the bond does to his fragile mind. Though he feels that too, like ghost always hovering close by, whispering in his ear.

_Your mate has someone else. Kill them, everyone who comes close!  
_

_They hate you. It’s because you burned lasagne the other night._

_CLAIM HIM! We will die if you let him run away!_

Worst of all, he’s been dreaming again and in his dreams it is so much harder to pretend he does not know who the voice belongs to. It all makes him want to smash his head into a wall until he’s nothing but a dirty smear on its surface.

Somehow Kakashi ends up retelling the events of the day when Iruka found traces of his dried cum in the bathroom.

”He looked so relieved when I told him it was hair gel.”

”Do you even use hair gel?” Gai asks, eyes slightly narrowed.

” _No.”_

Gai nodds, expression uncharactercially serious. ”I see. He does not know you very well yet.”

”Right—No. That’s not the problem.”

”What _is_ the problem?” Asuma asks. He has put out his cigarette and looks like he wants to be anywhere but at the bar with Gai and Kakashi, but he hasn’t left.

”The problem is that he would have known it was a lie if he didn’t want to believe it was true. Like, I’m pretty sure Iruka knows I don’t use hair gel. He has never seen me apply hair gel. I’m pretty sure we don’t _have_ any hair gel, which he would know. He cleans everything. So the fact that he took the lie at face value means that he really, really wanted to believe it was true. That it was hair gel, not jizz..."

”Which you produced while thinking loving thoug—” Kakashi shoves a napkin in Gai’s mouth to keep him quiet.

Asuma lights up another cigarette. It’s one of those moments in which Kakashi wishes he was a smoker so he would have an excuse to light up as well, anything to put distance to their matter of conversation. ”So the actual problem is that despite being two weeks married, you haven’t gotten laid.”

”Two and a half weeks,” Kakashi corrects. ”And he still almost passes out at the sight of my… Produce.”

”Have you had this problem before?” Asuma asks, leaning his chin on one hand. Gai mumbles something, but Kakashi still keeps his hand over the alpha’s mouth, preventing him from spitting out the napkin.

”No,” Kakashi says.

”Never?”

” _Never,”_ Kakashi says.

Most often, when an omega moves in with an unmated alpha of appropriate age their hormones will spike and throw them into heat, regarless of where they are in their cycle. Usually it happens within a week or two of moving in, the symptoms beginning earlier—Kakashi has seen none of them. At first he’d thought Iruka might just be one of those who don’t show much beforehand, but he _actually_ hasn’t gone in to heat yet. Kakashi supposes he deserves this anguish for hoping that a heat spent together might solve the awkwardness that now lingers between him and his omega.

”Hmm,” Asuma says. ”Maybe he just doesn’t like you that way?”

Kakashi rubs his face with his hand. ”Not helping.”

On his other side Gai has recovered. ”Rival, you need to put more effort into romancing your Fair Flower! He is such a gentle soul! If he is not responding, it is because you have not _shown him_ enough that you care! I can prove this, for just after a quiet dinner with me he was very receptive—”

Kakashi kicks Gai’s stool as his jealousy flares, but the stool is bolted to the floor and instead of toppling him over, Kakashi ends up with just his own foot hurting. Gai’s stool spins a little, but he stills it with his own foot, laughing lowly.

”71-72, in my favour,” Gai says, with a self-satisfied grin.

”I’ve served Iruka dinner,” Kakashi says instead of responding.

Gai tuts. ”While a home-made dinner is special in its own way, it is not as efficient in conveying romantic interest as, say, dinner at a nice restaurant with candles and red roses on the table. Then, afterwards, you can whisk him away for a romantic walk in the moonlight—”

”Gai, shut up,” Kakashi says.

”Maybe you should ask my father,” Asuma says.

”You don’t know Iruka?”

 ”I… Don’t _not_ know, but I haven’t lived at home since I was fifteen and Iruka and I were never particularly close. Anything like that, I probably wouldn’t be able to answer, but my father… He might know.”

Kakashi didn’t particularly like the idea of asking the older Sarutobi for advice. He’ll, he didn’t like asking advice period. Even now he had gotten away with not speaking out the words. If people sat close to him at the bar and happened to hear him rambling due to the alcohol, well it was a free world. If they wanted to give him advice, it wasn’t like he could stop them.

”I’ll think about it,” Kakashi lied.

 

* * *

 

Despite himself, Kakashi found himself following some of Gai’s advice, namely the _show that you care_ part. He just couldn’t brush off the hope that this was all a misunderstanding. So he brought Iruka flowers. Red roses to be exact. The florist, a Yamanaka, said it was the easiest way to convey love as almost anyone would recognize the language of this particular flower.

Kakashi had it all planned out. He’d come home, smile, give Iruka the flowers and say the words, _these are for you, honey._ Only when he stepped through the gate to the yard it was with the startling realization that it wasn’t locked as it had been when he left.

He threw the roses aside and rushed up to the house. The door was shut and locked, for a moment he entertained the idea that maybe he just forgot and the gate had been left unlocked all this time, but no. Kakashi knew the moment he stepped inside that the house would be empty. Call it a sixth sense.

He searched anyway, calling out Iruka’s name and coming back to the front door, struggling to keep his breathing even.

Okay. Alright. Breathe deeply. No signs of a fight visible. What was next sensible explanation?

A note!

Kakashi rushed to the kitchen and sure enough, on the table there was a note that he had missed earlier in his haste. It read:

_Out with friends. Don’t wait up._

_Iruka  
_

Friends? To Kakashi’s mind came to betas whom he’d only met briefly when extracting his significant other from a nearby bar several weeks ago. The note crumpled in his grip as his fingers tightened to form a fist.

When a roar formed deep in his throat, Kakashi was barely aware enough to realize it was his own.

 

* * *

 

”It’s okay,” Iruka said with a wave of his hand. ”Kakashi doesn’t mind. He’s cool like that.”

”I don’t know, Iruka,” Izumo said, exchanging a look with Kotetsu.

”I don’t feel good about this,” Kotetsu, usually the more mischevious of the two, said.

Iruka huffed. ”Scaredy-pants,” he accused. Nevermind the fact that his two friends were absolutely right to doubt him. ”Now, go fetch me drinks. Shoo. More than one this time.” He was pretty sure he had that much time before his alpha eventually came for him. Kakashi had said ’a few hours’—Surely that meant at least one and a half. Iruka had left as soon as he was sure Kakashi wasn’t coming back for something he’d forgotten so he had a good hour to get abuzz going.

As always, probably expecting Kakashi would interrupt Iruka’s stupidity so they wouldn’t have to bother, Kotetsu and Izumo did as Iruka asked.

Iruka was as surprised as the two betas when he managed to finish four drinks with no Kakashi storming in through the door. The bartender kept throwing them suspicious looks, but it wasn’t forbidden for an omega to enter a bar if he had his husband’s permission. Since Kakashi didn’t appear, Iruka kept drinking, thinking that the alpha would appear _any moment now._ On his seventh drink, though he’d been sipping slowly, Kotetsu voiced what all of them had been thinking.

”Maybe drink a glass of water next?”

”Excellent idea,” Iruka said, head feeling like cotton. He was floating. Spinning. Not feeling _bad,_ just, slightly more drunk than he’d prefer.

It was Kakashi’s fault.

He stood up, having to brace himself on the back of a chair. Someone was sitting in it, they looked over their shoulder.

”Careful there,” Izumo’s voice said.

”I’m okay. I just need to pee. Back in a sec.” Izumo made to follow him, but Iruka waved him away. ”I’m fine. Just really, really need to use the bathroom.” He saw Izumo’s worried look, but Iruka told himself it was okay, he wasn’t as drunk as Izumo assumed. He even noticed when an alpha at a nearby table exchanged looks with their friend before pushing their seat back.

Jerk. Iruka huffed, knowing exactly what the alpha had in mind. He quickened his pace, the world swimming around him. Door, door, the door to the toilet, it swung open as someone exited and Iruka dove under the man’s arm to make it inside. The stench that met him was unpleasant, but Iruka forced himself to keep going, diving into one of the free stalls. Some way off he heard the sound of stifled grunts. Iruka ignored it, seating himself on the toilet, too self-aware to even try and pee from a standing position. There were few things as disgusting as when people missed and subsequently soiled the whole area.

A few stalls away the grunting reached a crescendo. The whole bathroom smelled in a way Iruka had never known it to do. _Weird_ people were out today and it wasn’t even that late in the day.

Somehow, that train of thought led him to think of Kakashi. The alpha hadn’t come yet. Iruka wondered how long it had been since Kakashi said _just a few hours._ Maybe Iruka had over-estimated how much the alpha worried about him. Possibly his husband had already arrived at home and did just as Iruka had told him to do—Not wait up.

A part of Iruka felt very small at the thought.

 _Grandpa_ always came when Iruka was in trouble. He would never have trusted Iruka’s note. Like a knight in shining armour he would arrive to bail Iruka out of whatever trouble he’d gotten himself into. He’d give Iruka that disappointed stare that made him feel just awful, but he never didn’t come.

Someone knocked on the stall door. ”Are you okay? I saw you go in and it’s been a while.”

”I’m,” What should Iruka say? ”Okay. I just need a minute.”

”Okay,” The voice paused. ”If you’re sure.”

Iruka listened for the sound of feet moving away. They did—Heavy feet. Not a small and nimble woman.

Iruka opened the stall door slightly to peer through the gap. He was in the last stall, with good visiblity of the sinks. A man stood there washing his hands as he peered himself in the mirror. As if by sixth sense, he began to turn towards Iruka, but Iruka had already backed away, closing the door with a clatter.

_Alpha._

His heart beat hard in his chest. _How?_ Had the alpha followed him inside? But… Iruka’s fuzzy mind arrived at the more likely of two explanations.

He’d entered the wrong bathroom.

”Okay. No need to panic. It’s not the end of the world.” Except he didn’t know if the alpha outside was lying in wait for him or not. Probably he was just an innocent bystander—Possibly the one Iruka had heard jerking off a minute earlier.

Iruka squeezed his eyes shut at thought. Suddenly the strench of alpha could no longer be ignored. Now that he knew what it was, it felt unfathomable that he could have gone a moment without recognizing it.

Alpha _._ Powerful, unapologetic and all-consuming.

Also perverted. Whether the alpha was lying in wait or not, any alpha spying him there alone might be inclined to take advantage. Especially in an indebriate state. Iruka cursed his own stupidity, going though his options.

Iruka’s eyes fell on the small window up the wall. It had been left slightly open to let in fresh air. In his less than sober state it would be a bad idea to try his trademark escape, but his less than sober state also gave him a lot of confidence to try.

”To hell with it,” Iruka grunted, hauling himself on top of the toilet to reach for the window.

 

* * *

 

Kakashi spent close to two hours certain that he’d strangle his omega the moment he found him. He was barely aware of his own voice, sharp and authorative, sometimes lowering to a growl, the world passing in a blur before his eyes. He grabbed people, shoved them out of the way, looked _everywhere_ and goddamn where could one omega go without a bar full of people and his friends seeing him? He refused to think about what the fear in his gut meant.

_Where are you?_

_I’ll kill you when I find you!_

_You belong to **me.**_

Someone mentioned perhaps seeing an omega in the Alpha/Male Beta bathroom. When Kakashi came across a stall that was locked from the inside, he ripped the door from its hinges. Finding the stall empty, he began to turn away. Then his eyes fell on the window. His rage paused, long enough to let his mind wonder why it might be open.

An empty stall. Locked from the inside. Open window.

For one stupid moment Kakashi contemplated trying to force his way through the tiny window – He’d take half the wall with him, no doubt – Before deciding it would be quicker to ask the bartender how people usually got on the roof. As he hauled his weight up the ladder on the other side of the building he let himself contemplate the merits of throwing Iruka off the roof versus carrying him. If Iruka was on the roof at all, that is.

He was.

Nestled between the chimney and a portion of roof, Iruka lay curled on his side, head tucked in the crook of his arm. Kakashi’s breath caught. His eyes scanned the vicinity, the dark sky and the moon rising in the distance. No competition. Just one wayward omega, sleeping peacefully, no doubt cold from spending so long outside. He hurried to the omega’s side, wary of slipping. When Kakashi touched the omega’s cheek he found the skin warm, but Iruka mumbled something in his sleep and leaned into the touch nevertheless. Kakashi tensed.

Iruka didn’t usually like being touched. More accurately, he didn’t like being touched by Kakashi.

”Kakashi,” Iruka mumbled.

Kakashi swallowed thickly, feeling as if the world just came apart beneath his feet.

 

* * *

 

When Iruka woke up, he was warm. He breathed in and there was fresh air, but also other scents, many of them of people and of alpha. This time he wasn’t as offended by the scents as he had been ealier… In a bathroom? Iruka blinked his eyes open, staring up at the sky. Stars twinkled down on him. The air was moderately cool, but he still had alcohol in his bloodstream and he was kept warm by… A body. Wrapped around him.

Iruka sat up, mind alert.

”You’re awake.”

Iruka looked down, meeting a mis-matched gaze.

”Are you alright? You said you were, but you were pretty out of it.”

”I’m…” On a roof. With Kakashi. How was that possible? Iruka gaped. ”How did you find me?”

Kakashi’s eyes darkened, but he brushed hair out of Iruka’s face, a gesture too gentle for him to be very angry. ”I saw your note. Guessed where you’d gone and your friends met me at the bar. They were very worried, you know. Said you’d gone to the bathrooms and disappeared.”

”I think I entered the wrong bathroom,” Iruka blurted out.

”Yes,” was all Kakashi said.

Iruka flushed.

The alpha ran his fingers through Iruka’s hair again and despite his mind being fuzzy still, a part of Iruka realized there was something odd about that. He shook his head and Kakashi let his hand fall. ”Have you been drinking?” Iruka asked, studying the alpha's eyes. They appeared a bit glassy, but it was too dark to tell reliably.

”No. I mean yes—But I’m not affected anymore,” Kakashi said.

Iruka eyed the alpha dubiously.

 

* * *

 

It was the truth, dammit.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A short chapter. Intended to write more, but for the sake of pacing I ended up moving up some parts to the next one. I dunno if that means the next chapter will come out more quickly. Anyway, I hope you enjoy!
> 
> EDIT: The next chapter probably WILL be out fairly soon. And it's looking... Intense.

The situation, as it stood, was unbearable. Kakashi’s nerves were on a razor edge due to the perilous state of their bond and Iruka’s careless actions nearly brought him to the point of homicide more than once. Even when Iruka wasn’t actively trying to mess with Kakashi the omega managed to worry him; Like the time Kakashi stepped away to use the bathroom Iruka had vanished in the span of the two minutes it took him to finish, only to be found outside leaving a full bag of trash by the gate where it would wait to be taken away. Forbidding Iruka from performing all of these anxiety inducing but generally safe and domestic tasks wouldn’t work in the long run, Kakashi had enough experience with the omega’s explosive nature to know that, so he was forced to find another solution.

”I apologize for intruding,” Kakashi muttered politely, nodding his head to the sharp eyed omega who opened the door for him.

”It is no trouble,” Sarutobi Biwako said, face steely, in no way welcoming despite her words. Nevertheless she made way, stepping aside so Kakashi could pass. Kakashi did so, lowering his head to escape her closer scrunity.

She was way, way creepy.

Sarutobi Hiruzen was puffing on his pipe in a small reading room when Kakashi entered. Instead of walking right in, he lingered by the door, studying the older man. Hiruzen neither stood up or noted Kakashi in anyway. His face was covered in wrinkles, fingers thinned with age, but Kakashi could tell he still kept up with his workouts by the obvious callouses on his hands and the muscles that help up his shoulders proudly.

”You can come in,” Hiruzen said carefreely. Kakashi didn’t respond immediately. He lingered for a minute before walking softy to the other side of the small table the older alpha sat by. He didn’t sit down though, eyes scanning the room, taking in the large bookcase filled to the brim with books.

”You have an impressive library,” Kakashi commented dully.

”I had an even more impressive one until your omega happened upon it,” Hiruzen said, surprising Kakashi. Before Kakashi could say anything, Hiruzen waved his worries away. ”It was a couple of years ago. Iruka has calmed down a lot now that he’s older.”

’Calmed down’ the elderly Sarutobi said. Kakashi was fucked.

”About that,” Kakashi began. He couldn’t get the rest of the words out though. As soon as he intended to, his jaws clamped out of their own accord, forcing back any sounds that might have otherwise escaped. Hiruzen waited patiently.

Why was asking for advice so difficult? He wasn’t even asking for help, just advice. (There was a difference.)

”Yes?” Hiruzen prompted. Kakashi’s jaws tightened, pressing his teeth together in an unforgiving bite. A low growl almost escaped him.

No, coming was a mistake. Fact was, it wasn’t just his pride on the line. Here he was, about to ask another alpha for advice on how to handle his own bride. How could he even call himself an alpha if he did that? _Why would any omega want to be with you if you can’t even take care of them by yourself? You might as well hand him over to the alpha that you’re asking for advice from! Weakling! Coward!_

”Maah,” Kakashi said, forcing a smile on his face, though he was sure it read as a grimace even through his mask. ”Look at the time! I promised Iruka I’d be—”

”Sit down!” Hiruzen barked, and though Kakashi was too old to instinctively obey, the urge was there. He shivered slightly. Hiruzen sighed, putting out his pipe after another small puff. ”You’re here to ask for advice, yes? My son warned me you might.”

 _Traitor!_ Kakashi mind screamed. Outwardly, he managed to tilt his chin down a quarter of an inch.

”I thought I wouldn’t interfere if you didn’t come directly to me, but I’ve heard enough gossip to have a general idea of the situation,” Hiruzen continued. Kakashi closed his eye to shield against the shame that flared up in his mind.

Yes, of course the whole village would be aware of his fuck ups. Iruka was like a flare, nobody could not notice him, especially with how bold the omega’s stunts as of late had been. When an omega acted up, the gossip wine would be on their toes to spread the story.

”I’m this close to strangling him,” Kakashi said, showing the distance of about an inch with his fingers. It was the only thing he could say honestly without feeling like he was chopping off his balls with his own knives.

”Aah,” Hiruzen said, seeming unperturbed. ”Without presuming to know your omega better than you do, I’d suggest you look into finding him a job. Something that will let him tire himself out physically and give his mind something to think about.”

”Iruka has a job. He takes care of the house,” Kakashi said, thinning his eyes.

”Yes. I figured you would have come much earlier if you weren’t keeping him occupied somehow,” Hiruzen said honestly. It irked Kakashi to hear _anything_ said of his omega in a knowing fashion, but even that was overshadowed by the sudden rage he felt when another alpha presumed to know what _he’d_ do. Kakashi pressed down the urge to reach inside of his west only barely, reminding himself that a fight with Sarutobi Hiruzen would _not_ improve his present state of matters any.

”I’m not telling you to take my advice,” Hiruzen said, eyes dark and glittery, no doubt reacting inwardly to the turmoil he could see presented in the tight lines of Kakashi’s body. ”Merely I’m… Giving suggestions based on prior experience. It’s like reading a map. Only an idiot would wander aimlessly on foreign ground.

Kakashi shifted his weight from one foot to the other.

Hiruzen’s gaze flickered. ”Like youself, Iruka is very devoted to those he considers family. I didn’t suggest your union merely because Iruka needed to marry; I did so, because I truly believed you two might make a good match. Iruka resists any and all attempts to control him, but if you play your cards right, you will not need to. Let him come to you.”

”What’s that supposed to mean?” Kakashi drawled.

Hiruzen shrugged, smiling with his eyes. ”We all need to find our own way of doing it.”

 

Kakashi let himself out, a storm clouding his mind. His body was filled with unreleased anxiety after the encounter with an elderly, but still powerful alpha. It didn’t help that his relationship with Iruka used to be so close.

Was close.

Kakashi didn’t notice he was growling until a woman lifted her arms up in the air with an ”Eep!”, backing away from him in fright.

Oops. Time to get himself back under control. Kakashi rubbed his face, forcing an exhale.

Hiruzen’s words echoed in his mind. _Like youself, Iruka is very devoted to those he considers family. I didn’t suggest your union merely because Iruka needed to marry; I did so, because I truly believed you two might make a good match._ In other words, Hiruzen claimed he’d suggested the union primarily for Iruka’s sake while Kakashi’s need had been a secondary one in his eyes. Kakashi found it hard to believe anybody would willingly marry off their adoptive son – sort of – to him unless they harboured an awful lot resentment towards them. Hiruzen didn’t seem like the type, but then the most dangerous ones never did.

Iruka seemed awfully fond of his ’gramps’ though.

”Holy shit! You gave me a heart attack. Don’t just suddenly growl at strangers, creep!”

Oh. He was growling alot today.

 

When Kakashi walked through the gates to the Hatake family house he already had a plan forming in his head. Not a full one, but the beginnings of one. By the door, he noted briefly that Iruka’s shoes were in place, but he called out to be sure. ”Iruka, I’m home!”

”Oh, welcome!” Iruka said, appearing in the doorway. He had his hair half up, half down in a messy bun and was wearing a t-shirt reached all the way to his upper thigh.

Kakashi could not be blamed for staring. ”Is that one of mine?” he said weakly.

”Yeah. I accidentally put all of mine in the wash. Wasn’t thinking,” Iruka laughed. ”I hope you don’t mind? I’ll wash it.”

”No, I don’t mind.” No, don’t wash it, Kakashi wanted to say. He headed to the kitchen for a glass of water to clear his head.

He’s not trying to seduce you!

Maybe he is?

He’s not! It’s pure coincidence!

Iruka puttered around the kitchen, in the process of cooking it seemed like. ”I could have done that,” Kakashi said, because despite what the elderly Sarutobi said, an omega shouldn’t be responsible for _all_ the duties in a house.

”I want to,” Iruka said, and he seemed to mean it. The omega had a relaxed, joyful look on his face and he was humming as he added ingredients. Baking, rather than anything real to eat. Not that Kakashi minded. He’d eat anything made with such joy.

Kakashi settled down at the table to watch. It was domestic, not creepy.

”What put you in such a good mood?” Kakashi eventually asked. Iruka had just put his buns in the owen and was checking the temperature, but when he heard Kakashi’s question, he quickly straightened out.

”Eh? Me? In a good mood… I suppose.”

It was… An odd response. ”Good day?” Kakashi prodded.

”Yeah,” Iruka laughed, slightly nervous. Eyes flickering around the room.

Oh god.

”Do you want to confess now or do I need to fish it out of you along with your tongue and teeth?” Kakashi asked, perfectly calmly. Iruka froze like a deer caught in headlights.

Okay, so maybe that was an overkill.

”I don’t… I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Iruka said.

Or maybe it wasn’t overkill enough if the omega still wasn’t confessing. Iruka was a tough nut, Kakashi had to give him that.

”Whatever it is, I’ll find out eventually. You do realize that, don’t you?” Kakashi said, standing up and rounding the table to Iruka was standing. Iruka did not back up, but he leaned all of his weight against the counter, instinctively trying to get as far from the angry alpha as he possibly could. Kakashi touched his shoulder and Iruka jolted as if he’d had electricity running through his fingers. ”Only difference is,” Kakashi quietly murmurred. Iruka shivered at the sound of his voice so close. _Good. At least he’s responding to you this way._ ”I’ll be more likely to feel lenient if I hear it from your own mouth.”

Kakashi went to brush hair away from Iruka’s face when his eyes fell on the omega’s ear. For a moment he just stared, until the bareness of the lobe struck a chord in his mind and he froze.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: In case it's been too long and people have forgotten. In this universe, alphas wear jewels/earrings on both ears until they get married, upon which the right one will be given to their spouse. It's only really referred to in the first chapter I think.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fasten your seatbelt and hold on to your wig, here we go!

**WARNING: Contains content that can be triggering to some.**

**Please note that some elements in this fic are not realistic. ABO in a fic is fun, but if your boyfriend starts calling himself an alpha and acts like he's in rut / cannot control his sexuality, that's called a problem. Also, difficult issues like mental problems have been smoothed over. This fic is not an accurate representation of reality.**

 Previously:

_”Whatever it is, I’ll find out eventually. You do realize that, don’t you?” Kakashi said, standing up and rounding the table to Iruka was standing. Iruka did not back up, but he leaned all of his weight against the counter, instinctively trying to get as far from the angry alpha as he possibly could. Kakashi touched his shoulder and Iruka jolted as if he’d had electricity running through his fingers. ”Only difference is,” Kakashi quietly murmurred. Iruka shivered at the sound of his voice so close. Good. At least he’s responding to you this way. "I’ll be more likely to feel lenient if I hear it from your own mouth.”_

_Kakashi went to brush hair away from Iruka’s face when his eyes fell on the omega’s ear. For a moment he just stared, until the bareness of the lobe struck a chord in his mind and he froze._

 

* * *

**CHAPTER 7**

* * *

_  
_

_Don’t regret your decision later,” the pudgy man with a stupid looking mustasche sing songed._

_”I won’t,” Iruka said confidently._

_It was a terrible idea, Iruka knew, but many miracles had been created through times of great desperation. So he told himself anyway when he accepted the bundle of money from the man behind the counter. He didn’t need to count to know it was the most he’d ever held in his hand._

_Ever._

_He hauled the bag off of the counter, and holy shit it was heavy! Iruka huffed and puffed, grinning widely as he did._

_Where to first? Clothes or rice? Toys? The kids would be ecstatic! Iruka had grown up in the orphanage so he knew how scarce treats would be. Iruka could count on one hand the times he’d been given a present and he’d spent close to a decade within the old and already rundown building’s walls._

_Iruka didn’t let himself think about Kakashi. The alpha would be mad probably, but Iruka could just say he lost it. Surely that happened all the time to people._

_Good, just, well-doing people._

 

 

”What happened to the jewel?” Kakashi breathed. ”Did you take it off for a bath? You’re not supposed to take it off.”

All it took was one qustion for Iruka to realize he’d miscalculated. He’d expected anger, shouting – those were something he knew how to deal with, even actively encouraged – but knew only a few words in that wasn’t where this was going.

At least not yet.

”Which rooms have you been to today? When did you see it last? Where have you looked for it already?" Kakashi paused, his eyes searching Iruka's.

Iruka felt guilt twist his gut and roll up his tongue in his throat. He knew this was the moment when he was supposed to lie - _Just say it! That you lost it. Then you can spend the rest of the day searching and there's nothing he can fault you for._ Yet the words would not come. Lying directly or a lie omittance, they should not have been too different, yet a part of Iruka was wary of taking that last step.

"Did you look for it?" Kakashi asked.

_Would you lie to your alpha?_

”You did lose it,” Kakashi said. Whether it was a statement or a question, Iruka was not sure. He closed his eyes, turning his face away.

The air around them condensed, a strom brewing.

He was reminded of a time in his youth when he found tampons in Kiyo-chan's bag and took them out, only to figure out a moment too late that it was not the type of thing people were open to joking about. Iruka had learned to be wary of women after that. He tried apologizing of course, but unlike a small fuck up, when you fucked up big time people simply had no interest in what you had to say.

”What did you do?” Kakashi whispered, and Iruka knew the game was over.

It was as if hell’s gates had opened.

”WHAT DID YOU DO?” Kakashi scremed, unlike Iruka had ever heard him.

Iruka grasped the counter hard enough for his knuckles to lose all color. He saw only a flash of Kakashi's arm before the wood next to his head exploded. Iruka shrieked, horrified, but Kakashi followed the first strike immediately with a second and a third on either side of his head, only inches away.

"Stop it!” Iruka’s ears hurt from the loud bangs, seeing through the corner of his eye how wood was left sticking out after Kakashi’s fist pushed the middle in. He tried to shield himself by curling into a ball, but Kakashi grabbed him by his collar, snarling in his face.

”HOW DARE YOU? DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YOU’VE DONE? YOU – ”

”I’m sorry! Stop hurting me,” Iruka cried.

Kakashi tightened his grip on Iruka’s shirt – _Kakashi’s_ shirt – pulling him off the counter and onto the floor. Iruka fell on his knees, pain shooting up his leg.

”WHERE DID YOU THROW IT? SHOW ME, NOW! I’LL HAVE YOU ON YOUR KNEES LICKING EVERY CORNER OF THIS HOUSE UNTIL WE FIND IT –”

”It’s not here!”

Kakashi paused long enough in his shouting to listen to Iruka. Iruka wiped tears and snot on his – on Kakashi’s – shirt.

”I sold it, okay? It’s not in the house.”

Iruka realized only afterwards that maybe that was not the right thing to say to someone who was already murderous.

”You what?” Kakashi said in a whisper.

Iruka didn’t dare respond. Kakashi stood stock still in that moment, yet Iruka knew the alpha was more dangerous than ever. The crazed look in his eyes, the subtle quivering of his body all spoke for it.

Crazy. Dangerous. Kakashi had already proven he was faster than Iruka. Physically, weight wise or in experience, Iruka already knew he was no match to an alpha.

Iruka stood no chance, not even to save himself if Kakashi decided to kill him. It wouldn’t matter if it was spur of the moment. It wouldn’t matter if Kakashi came to regret it later once he came to his senses. Iruka had truly dug his own grave.

Kakashi’s ribs expanded and dropped in a steady rhytm. Iruka did not dare move, afraid of setting him off again.

”I’ll count to five,” Kakashi began. ”And when I reach the final number you will be nowhere in sight or I will wring your pretty little neck. Am I understood?”

Iruka swallowed around the lump in his throat, nodding.

”One,” Kakashi said and Iruka rolled onto his feet, only to be stopped by Kakashi’s fingers clasping on to his arm. Iruka flinched, stepping back, but Kakashi had no trouble hauling him close. Iruka’s feet slid along the floorboards until he was almost nose to nose with Kakashi. ”Two,” Kakashi said, pointedly. Iruka gasped, working harder to get lose.

”You can’t be serious! You’re absolutely insane! Let me go, now.”

”Three,” Kakashi counted. Iruka turned his head to bite the alpha’s hand where it grasped on to his wrist. Blood poured out of the wound, but nothing else happened. Kakashi’s grip did not even waver, when Iruka looked up the alpha’s face remained perfectly unmoving. ”Four.”

Iruka closed his eyes, clamping his jaws as hard on the alpha’s hand as he could. Finally the fingers twitched, a certain signal that Kakashi had experienced felt the pain at least somewhat, but when Iruka ested it, Kakashi’s grip remained strong.

It was over. Shit. Iruka couldn’t believe his life might end this way. Grandpa always predicted it, but somehow the risk never felt real to Iruka. He’d gotten away so many times by the skin of his teeth. Some way along the line he started to believe that he wasn’t just lucky, he hadn’t ’somehow’ managed to dodge a bullet. Instead, he was a _bullet dodger,_ capable of dodging it every time _._

Except there was no such thing.

Iruka sobbed openly, no longer worried about getting tears and snot on his chin and shirt. So what if he ruined Kakashi’s shirt? So what if he looked uncool? The bastard deserved it after this! Iruka was going to wash his shirt before returning it, but now he wouldn’t be around to wash anything.

Tears were disgusting, but they also a very powerful way of relieving pressure and in the midst of all that emotion, it took Iruka a while to realize Kakashi had not reached five yet. He let his jaws go slack, looking up through blurry eye, _certain_ that it had been more than a couple of seconds already and why the heck was he expecting Kakashi to act fair anyway.

He couldn’t tell what expression the alpha was wearing, tears blurring his sight to much, but the lack of hands on his neck was notable.

Then Kakashi’s grip on his wrist let go. ”Go. Before I change my mind.”

Feeling humiliated, defeated, so, so sorry and also scared, Iruka made his sobbing retreat. He could barely see where he was going through the cascade of tears running down his face, but he made it to the front door, grabbing his shoes instead of putting them on.

He didn’t look back. He could hear the absolute silence he left behind in the house and did not want to stay one moment longer.

 

 

”How is he?”

Hiruzen raised his gaze to meet Biwako’s knowing eyes. She had her arms folded over her chest, an unusual amount of tension hidden in her frame. It was no wonder she was affected. Iruka’s fear was readily projected in his scent and it was all over the house. Along with the sight of him standing on their porch, crying his eyes out and seeming so much younger than his nineteen years of age…

”I’m too old for this,” Hiruzen sighed. It was one of the reasons why he’d been desperate to find Iruka a husband. He didn’t bounce from stressful affairs as well as he did once upon a time and ’stressful’ was Iruka’s second name.

Lovely as well, but right in this moment Hiruzen had trouble appreciating the boy’s more likeable qualities.

Biwako helped him light up his pipe. Usually his wife nagged at him to stop, but at least she knew not to try in times like these. As soon as he was able to breathe in the smoke Hiruzen felt a little bit better.

”I thought you said Hatake was stable,” Biwako said.

”He was. Stable enough,” Hiruzen conceded, taking another drag of his pipe. ”Until Iruka decided to sell his family insignia.”

Biwako gasped.

”Yes,” Hiruzen said.

”How did that boy reach adulthood?” Biwako wondered aloud.

”I honestly do not know, dear wife of mine.”

Biwako shook his head in a manner that let Hiruzen know the omega boy was in for some trouble as soon as he had recovered from the initial bout. Good – though his wife’s relationship with the boy was not as close as his own was, they were familial enough and Hiruzen could use some help disciplining Iruka. As always though, Biwako had a good head for what matters needed to be taken care of first.

”What about the fool who accepted the jewelry?”

Yes – If Iruka’s version of the story was true, which Hiruzen did not doubt for one moment, then he had not done much to hide the origin of the jewel. That someone would know the worth of a family insignia and agree to buy it from an omega… Even if they had not known it was from the Hatake family specifically, it was still a risky, foolish venture.

Not one someone deserved to die for though.

”I sent our boys to save him,” Hiruzen said, taking a puff of his pipe.

Unlike Iruka, who had obviously been born with nine (or ninety) lives, Hiruzen did not imagine the poor fool had a chance of swaying Hatake Kakashi’s hand should the alpha get it in his head to go after him.

 

 

When Hiruzen arrived at the Hatake household he found the house still standing and, stepping inside, only one room in need of complete reconstruction. This was minor in Hiruzen’s mind. Having raised two alpha sons to adulthood, he knew perfectly well how much destruction an alpha could wreak in the span of mere hours.

”Iruka is fine,” Hiruzen said first, because no doubt the thought had popped into Kakashi's mind by now. No matter how angry, that would always be priority; where is my omega, are they safe, I need to find him. At least Kakashi was level enough to realize it was not a good idea to look for him though. ”And the jewel has been retrieved.”

”Do you have it?” Kakashi stood bowed over the kitchen table, unmarred except for the one knife sticking out of its wood. The rest of the kitchen had been demolished, with countertops being ripped off and porcelain broken in pieces all over, like they’d been thrown at the walls and window in a fury. Kakashi’s arms were dripping blood, there were splotches all over the room and leading further into the apartment where he must have gone briefly, but Hiruzen was not worried.

”Iruka has it,” Hiruzen said. Kakashi’s gaze flickered. ”I was unsure about letting him hold on to something so valuable after what happened today, but then I doubt even he'd manage to lose the same jewel twice in one day."

”He didn’t lose it,” Kakashi said. ”He sold it.”

”Yes,” Hiruzen said. "And though Iruka managed to spend a good amount of the money he got from the merchant, we were able to convince the man to let any remaining debt slide after he returned the jewel. He admitted that it had been a… Mistake to accept it.”

Or rather, he’d been terrified after Asuma described in rather intimate fashion what would happen to him if Hatake Kakashi came looking for the jewel instead of them. After that, it was only a matter of ironing out the details.

 ”Anything and everything that omega bought will be returned,” Kakashi snarled. ”Every single piece of shit.”

”That might be difficult,” Hiruzen said diplomatically. Kakashi’s eyes narrowed on him.

Hiruzen wasn’t afraid of being attacked – he doubted it would be him who set Kakashi off after all that had happened and if worst came to worst, he had guards waiting just outside ready to help him – but his body still responded to the perceived threat by tingling.

”Most of what Iruka bought was edible in nature. As it is in the nature of food to be consumed and it is incredibly difficult to retrieve food once it _has_ been consumed –”

”He’s one omega. He can’t have eaten through thousands of dollars,” Kakashi interrupted.

”Not one omega,” Hiruzen said, raising his eyebrow. ”I may have to be corrected on the exact number, but I believe there are about twenty five children currently housed at the orphanage.” Hiruzen paused to let his words sink in.

Though Iruka’s actions may not be defensible, Hiruzen was a firm believer that motive mattered. Certainly for Kakashi’s inner alpha it would – hardest to deal with would be to think his omega was rejecting him in such a harsh manner.

”I want to see him,” Kakashi said. His masked face was like a wall; Hiruzen could not even begin to decipher his emotions and though ANBU received extensive training to help them hide this way, he somehow doubted this in any way related.

”That might not be –”

”You will not keep me from him,” Kakashi snarled, his words like a whip. Hiruzen suppressed a grimace, upper lip twitching.

”Very well,” Hiruzen said, though he wasn’t sure it was a good idea at all.

 

 

Biwako, Hiruzen concluded, was an angel. Being an omega, her presence did not rattle Kakashi half as much as his did and she was able to put him in a room without much floundering. Kakashi moved like a robot, lifting his head whenever he caught on to a whiff of Iruka’s scent floating about in the hallways. No doubt he could smell the upset in the omega’s scent just as well as Hiruzen and Biwako could, but his face remained unperturbed, like a mask.

Biwako, in a moment of brilliance, even managed to elicit a promise from Kakashi that he would not try and talk to Iruka tonight. That settled one of Hiruzen’s major worries; He was still of the opinion that it was too soon to risk upsetting Kakashi again, when the alpha’s bond was fragile and his emotions on a tightrope. With Iruka’s propensity to rock any boat he stepped into, well. Hiruzen hoped Iruka’s upset would keep him on his best behavior at least for a couple of days.

Though the cause of Kakashi’s upset was Iruka, it was also him who held the key to the alpha’s calm. The plan – Biwako’s plan – was to put Kakashi in a room first and have him settle on the bed with the promise that Iruka would join him shortly.

It should work, Hiruzen concluded, but he still felt unbearable nervous.

He sat in a nearby room, listening while Biwako took charge and handled things. She talked to Kakashi like he was a puppy – go there, sit there, wait – and from what Hiruzen could tell, Kakashi did not object to it much. Perhaps the exhaustion was catching up to him too. He’d heard from Biwako that Iruka slept much of the time he spent away doing damage control.

Iruka’s feet in the hallway were like a little squirrel’s, light and flighty. Usually he came down the hall stomping like an elephant so the change was notable.

Some fifteen minutes later Biwako joined him in the room, closing the door behind her quietly.

”Everything went well, I assume,” Hiruzen said.

”They’re lying on a bed together. I gave Iruka-kun very clear instruction,” Biwako said.

Hiruzen’s lips twitched.

”For once I felt like he was listening to me,” Biwako continued.

”No way,” Hiruzen joked. She raised her eyebrow at him. ”I refuse to believe it until I see it with my own eyes.”

Biwako swatted him playfully with the back of her hand, coming to sit next to him, where Hiruzen wrapped his arm around her waist, pressing his nose to her neck and breathing.

It had been a long day.

 

 

Kakashi knew he wouldn’t be able to sleep. Insomnia would be another hurdle to overcome, but he could do that later. For now, he was satisfied to merely note that his mate was breathing. Each inhale and exhale, coming at the right time, served to settle Kakashi’s nerves.

In and out. In and out. Minutes, hours, until sunlight was flooding the room in the morning.

Iruka must have been exhausted emotionally. Kakashi was glad to have been able to watch over his rest. Sleep was important.

It was also the first time Iruka remained this close to Kakashi of his own volition. He’d come into the room with Kakashi already on the bed, crawled up to the alpha and remained unmoving, touching Kakashi’s side slightly through his clothes, until he fell asleep.

Kakashi’s eyes trailed to the omega’s brown hair, some strands running over his face. The blue diamond on his ear was barely visible.

Halfway through the morning Kakashi got bold, breaking the rules a little; He wrapped one of his arms around Iruka’s middle and pulled the omega closer, all the way against him. Iruka did not wake, remaining slack like a ragdoll, and Kakashi sighed in satisfaction.

Finally he dared close his eyes, if only for a minute.

 

**TO BE CONTINUED**

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not entirely happy with the editing but I'm starting to get cross-eyed and if I wait before posting, I might end up waiting a minimum of 1-2 weeks. So I decided to take a leap of faith and just post this now.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed!


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If the content of the chapter does not surprise you, the fact that I updated AGAIN certainly should! 
> 
> Additional note: I'll be occasionally adding 'cards' at the end of a chapter. They're essentially short snippets that I imagine happening in this universe, but which may not have room in the story. So please enjoy them and tell me what you think!

 

* * *

**CHAPTER 8**

* * *

_  
_

Iruka glanced over his shoulder at the sleeping alpha. Surprisingly, Kakashi hadn’t woken up when he extracted himself from the alpha’s grip. Iruka had been… Veeery close to him when he’d woken up, but since they’d both been asleep and Iruka was an affectionate bedpartner, he supposed it wasn’t entirely unexpected. He got used to sleeping in group beds at the orphanage and had to admit the past few weeks had been… Trying.

And, if Iruka were to be completely honest with himself, lonely.

Iruka pressed the door open to leave the room, then hesitated. He wouldn’t be more than two minutes tops, but… His gaze drifted to the alpha on the bed again.

Maybe… Maybe he could try acting like an adult for once. Iruka felt a pang in his chest, for one moment letting himself recall the expression on Kakashi’s face the night before when he’d noticed Iruka’s earring missing. He’d seemed younger… Lost.

 _Before nearly eviscerating you with his teeth,_ Iruka thought bemusedly.

Not letting himself ponder the matter any longer, Iruka approached the bed on his tiptoes to reach out and shake a shoulder. Kakashi’s body heat bled through the clothes. It was something Iruka had noted before, that the alpha seemed to stay perpetually at higher body temperatures than him. Kakashi never acted feverish though, so Iruka learned to ignore it. ”Kaka—”

Kakashi’s eyes snapped open. Iruka jumped, withdrawing his hand and placing it over his heart.

”Holy shit!” Iruka cursed. Kakashi sat up on the bed, groggy, but immediately alert. His eyes glancing about the room. _Searching for a threat,_ Iruka realized.

Finding nothing, Kakash’s eyes landed on Iruka. His face was still softened by sleep, displaying more emotion than Iruka was used to seeing in his husband, and for a moment Iruka was transfixed. _This is Kakashi?_ Though it was the same face, he could barely recognize him as the same man whom he’d cohabited with for the past few weeks –

And then, it was like locks snapping in place, one by one shutting off all sources of emotion within the span of seconds.

”What is it?” Kakashi drawled, sounding… _Bored._

Iruka blinked, feeling the hair on his neck stand up.

Was this normal??

Iruka licked his lips, pointing past himself towards the door. Kakashi’s looked over slightly too sharply for the aloof image he was trying to portay.”I just, I need to step out for a minute. I thought I’d give you a heads up…” As he spoke, Iruka felt a familiar heat rise on his cheeks. He felt like he was five again, waking up in the middle of the night needing to pee and putting up enough of a ruckus to wake his mother so he wouldn’t have to travel the distance to the bathroom in the darkness by himself.

Surely it was silly to wake Kakashi up for something as minor as him going to the loo? He’d would be gone two minutes tops.

But then Iruka thought of the times he’d done something similar at home – using the bathroom spontaneosly, taking out the trash, falling asleep on the couch when Kakashi expected him to follow shortly. Looking at Kakashi’s reaction each time – bursting in, wide and startled eyes, being _angry_ at Iruka when he had done nothing wrong goddamn it – there was no question of it. Losing tabs of Iruka made the alpha anxious. Something that Iruka considered _Kakashi’s_ problem to correct, he wasn’t going to live like a lapdog simply because someone could not get their act together, but –

But.

_”You do not know all of it, which is partly my fault. I had assumed Kakashi-kun would tell you himself – and perhaps he will, in time. Iruka, I feel like you do not yet understand the significance a bond has to an alpha. There is a reason why after losing his bondmate, Kakashi-kun looked to remarry immediately –”_

_”Yes, yes, I know. Because an alpha’s sanity is tied to the existence of their bond. I know that, it’s elementary,” Iruka said, huffing and rolling his eyes. Honestly, he knew he’d fucked up. Did they have to write a fricking novel about his failings?_

_Iruka just wanted to bury himself under the covers of his bed (really the bed in the guest room) and cry, but Hiruzen would not let him.  
_

_”Kakashi-kun not only lost a bond, which is a traumatic event in itself, but he did so in a particularly distressing manner. I do not consider it my right to disclose details, nor do I know them, but,” at this point, Hiruzen paused to make sure he had Iruka’s eyes. Iruka found it hard to meet the alpha’s gaze, but he forced himself to face the disappointment that he knew would be apparent there. ”I had thought you, if anybody, would understand loss the way he does.”_

_At this, Iruka felt a stab in his heart. That was a low blow, even for being a lecture – but okay, maybe Iruka deserved it this time.  
_

_To bring up his parents’ death though. Gramps would know it was still a sore subject to Iruka, though Iruka pretended to be strong.  
_

How recently had Kakashi’s previous mate died? Iruka realized that he’d never enquired about the matter and for all he knew, it could have been the day before gramps proposed the arrangement to him. Somehow it _felt_ aeons ago… Or like it never happened. To Iruka, Kakashi’s previous mate was as real as the characters in a novel, she or he might as well have never existed.

To Kakashi though, he realized with a startling clarity, they obviously would have. Maybe they’d even been as important to the alpha as Iruka’s parents had been to him, which would be… Wow.

 _I’m an asshole,_ Iruka realized with no little amount of amazement.

”Is it far?” Kakashi asked.

”No, just around the corner,” Iruka said, gesturing which his hand – which probably couldn’t be made sense of, trying to indicate a corner by crooking his finger, but he considered it a moderate success when Kakashi nodded in understanding.

Then Kakashi swung his legs over the side of the bed. Iruka stared, hand frozen mid-air, when the alpha came to stand next to him.

Iruka frowned. ”You’re seriously not going to follow me to the bathroom, are you?” Kakashi’s gaze flickered. Iruka waved his hand. ”It’s like, juuuust around the corner. It won’t take me more than two minutes to do my business.”

”I don’t mind,” Kakashi said.

Iruka stared. ”Well, I do.” No way was he going to take this quietly! Loo time was _private._ Kakashi didn’t need to know what his bondmate did while in there. It was creepy enough when at home, the alpha would stand right outside.

Traumatic experiences or not, this was the one thing which he would not give in on!

Except… Iruka grimaced. He’d kinda resolved to be more understanding of Kakashi’s… Whatever you’d call it.

Kakashi’s brows creased. ”Very well.”

H…Huh? Iruka gaped. Kakashi’s gaze flickered as the alpha shifted his weight, slouching in a more pronounced manner.

”It’s not far, right?” Kakashi said.

Iruka nodded dumbly.

”Alright then. I’ll wait. Come back here once you’re done.”

…

Did he just… Win a negotiation with Kakashi? Iruka was still in a daze when closing the bathroom door behind him.

…

Feeling much more relaxed after he relieved himself, Iruka opened the bathroom door only to find Kakashi sitting on the floor against the wall, one knee bent and the other straightened out to allow for a more comfortable sitting position.

As Iruka stared at him, Kakashi did not meet his gaze.

”Too far?” Iruka asked.

Kakashi did not respond. Before, Iruka would have definitely assumed it was _arrogance_ that motivated the alpha to disregard their agreement and look away when Iruka was calling him out on it, but now – now all Iruka could see was _embarrassed._

”How aware are you of behaving irrationally?” Iruka asked.

Kakashi seemed terribly enchanted by his toes.

 

**_~~\--- <3 <3 <3 ---~~ _ **

_At the Hatake family home, a masked man sat on the windowsill to the kitchen, staring at the destruction that had been wrought. Chills ran up his spine imaging the alpha that was responsible; Kakashi-sempai was scary.To think he’d do this to his own omega._

_Master was correct. He was becoming a liability._

_The most startling detail in the room was the lone knife that had been stabbed into the table. It jutted out, thick hilt asking to be grabbed for another deadly strike. Yet the table it had been sunk in looked almost entirely undamaged whereas many utensils could barely be recognized for their original purpose._

_The hollow part of a spoon, missing the handle, lay on the floor underneath the windowsill._

_He could imagine it; Kakashi-sempai taking hold of one of the thickest knives and swinging it at the table like it was an animal to be butchered._

  ** _ ~~\--- <3 <3 <3 ---~~_**

 

On their way to the dining room Iruka brought the arm of his shirt up to his nose to check it and yes, he did indeed reek of alpha _. Terribly so._ Biwako and gramps would be able to smell him coming from miles off.

“Would you stop that?” Iruka’s eyes drifted to the alpha who seemed to be looking anywhere but at him.

There was something unique about Kakashi’s scent that just made it impossible to ignore. It was like a beacon in the night, painting him red while everybody else was green, overwhelming to your senses and, “How can you live with your own scent?” Iruka asked, entirely sincere in his question until he realized it probably wasn’t the most polite thing to say.

“I don’t have a choice, do I?” Kakashi bit out.

“That came out wrong,” Iruka said, waving his hand in the air as if trying to dispel his earlier words. “I mean, it’s just really unique. Like _very_ unique. Doesn’t that get tiring?  I’m pretty sure I could pick out your scent in a crowd even if there were like a thousand other alphas there.”

As Iruka spoke, Kakashi’s head began to drop in defeat only for him to raise it abruptly halfway through, look at Iruka, look straight ahead and once again at Iruka.

“Like, I’d think people like being able to smell themselves on their belongings, but your scent is so overpowering it just wipes anything else out. Don’t people ever get mad at you for polluting their stuff?” Iruka turned to Kakashi, honestly curious.

Kakashi’s back slowly straightened out from its seemingly perpetual slouch. “You think my scent is special?”

Iruka blinked, thrown off by the non-sequitur. “It’s not weird or anything,” he hastened to assure, thinking that Kakashi must be offended after all. ”Just really, really strong. Different.”

...

Not weird, just really, really strong. And discernible amongst a thousand other alphas. Kakashi brought a hand to his face, feeling like he needed something more to hide behind despite knowing that his mask did a good job of keeping his real feelings from the world.

Was it possible… Was Iruka flirting with him?

No.

But what if the omega _was?_

He’s wasn’t. Or if he was, he did it in the most roundabout way possible, throwing Kakashi compliments so veiled they had even his head spinning trying to figure them out. That sounded like something he might do though, not Iruka, so Kakashi doubted its plausibility.

...

Since Iruka saw Kakashi without a mask most of the time, it was weird to look at him and not know when or _how_ the man was eating. Iruka only knew that every time he turned to look at the alpha, Kakashi had his mask on and somehow food had disappeared off of his plate. Gamps and Baba (though never let her hear Iruka call her that) paid it no mind, but Iruka was curious. So he tried to catch a glimpse whenever Kakashi lifted his chopsticks, but the alpha must have noticed his stare and gotten, well, nervous or whatever _,_ because instantly he'd move super fast, like _inconscievably_ fast.

The end result was that, at the end of breakfast, Iruka still had not managed to capture a glimpse of his husband's face. Which he saw every day at home.

It was _wacky._

"Nobody can swallow that quickly and not choke," Iruka muttered, low enough for only him and Kakashi to hear, while Biwako collected the dishes.

Kakashi glanced at him through the corner of his eye, raising one eyebrow challengingly. He oozed confidence and Iruka _really_ wanted to reach out and check the alpha's pockets to be sure he hadn't cheated, but unfortunately right then, Biwako coughed into her palm.

"Iruka, if you'd follow me, I've got a few tasks which you could help out with."

Iruka, recognizing her words as code for 'it's time to begin your punishment', groaned but he did not wait before jumping to his feet. Kakashi's hand catching on to his wrist stilled him. 

"Where are you going?" Kakashi murmurred, mostly calm, but obviously still reading the situation.

"Dishes first," Iruka said defeated. "Probably. And then everything else. Because of yesterday," he clarified, when Kakashi's eyes flickered unsurely.

"It's not her job to punish you."

"Maybe not," Iruka agreed, tugging Kakashi's fingers loose gently. The alpha let him go. "But I won't be the one to tell her that."

 _And I'd rather face her punishment than yours,_ he didn't say.

 

**_~~\--- <3 <3 <3 ---~~ _ **

_In a nearby tree a branch snapped, startling the masked man. He rose to his full length, hand gripping one of his knives. If someone caught him at the Hatake household that would be bad. It might be possible to explain away, but he could not risk word getting around._

_A cat meowed pitifully._

_He deflated, glad he had not thrown the knife. ”Oh, Kuroko-san. Please don’t tell me you’re stuck again.” He put away his knife, jumped off the windowsill and made it to the same branch as the cat in a couple of leaps._

_The black cat had its nails deeply nestled in the thick wood and looked absurdly pleased, or bored, to have lured a human to it._

_When he detached it from the tree, the cat dug its nails in him. He hissed. ”Don’t fight it, Kuroko-san. You know the madam is too old to come get you herself."_

_Somehow he got the cat out of the tree._

~~\--- <3 <3 <3 ---~~

Iruka supposed he should have expected it, that Kakashi wouldn’t want to let him out of sight even while he was working. Having finished washing the dishes for that morning, Iruka with Kakashi in tow moved outside where the weather was warm and Biwako supplied him with a bucket of water and a small mountain of clothes to wash.

”These can’t all be yours and grandpa’s!” Iruka gasped, calling bullshit immediately.

”They’re not,” Biwako said without blinking. ”I offered your services to the neighbours as well.”

Iruka spluttered, looking to his husband for support, but Kakashi actually seemed pleased. He gave Iruka cheerful thumbs up before settling in the shade with his book open in his lap. _Traitor!_ Iruka's mind screamed, but, eh... Maybe it was fair since this was supposed to be his chance to repent and all.

The alpha later helped him set up additional lines for the clothes to dry, so Iruka supposed that was something.

The work Biwako set out for him was through-out the day was demanding physically, but not unreasonably difficult to carry out, allowing Iruka to 'sweat out' any lingering feelings of guilt. Though he complained just enough that Baba wouldn't think to add to his workload, Iruka actually preferred this way of repenting. Doing something concrete and seeing the results with his eyes allowed him to feel accomplished, like he'd done something real to make his wrongs right again. As the Penguin often liked to remind him, it didn’t _unmake_ past wrongs, as that could not be done, but it was definitely a step in the right direction. And since nobody, Iruka liked to remind _her_ , got through life without making any mistakes at all, he thought it a good way of letting go of past guilt.

At the end of the day Iruka felt tired, but good. While he was enjoying the last rays of the setting sun on the porch facing the inner yard, Kakashi approached him and Iruka sensed this was it. No point in drawing out the unavoidable. ”You’re a surprisingly hard worker,” was the first thing Kakashi said as he came to sit next to Iruka. He never raised his gaze from the pages of his book, but somehow Iruka knew he still had the alpha’s full attention.

”I suppose. I used to help out at the orphanage a lot,” Iruka said with a small smile. Kakashi hmm’ed.

Iruka waited for the alpha to breach the subject that the both of them were thinking about. Maybe he should do it himself, but his courage seemed to have fled his body.

”How much did you get for it?” Kakashi asked finally.

Iruka lifted up three fingers. ”300,000 yen.” (~3000 $)

Kakashi lifted his nose out of his book, looking affronted. ”It’s worth at least three times as much. Maybe more.” Iruka scanned the alpha’s face, but nothing on it spoke of dishonesty. He gaped, looking down at his own fingers, adding a fourth, fifth, up to nine fingers while counting.

”You’re kidding! The old man fooled me?”

”You can’t honestly say you’re surprised.”

”He offered ¥200,000 for it first! I bargained!”

”And he bought it illegally. It would have been apparent to him from the start you had no idea what you were dealing with and he likely named the lowest price he thought he could get away with. I suppose I should just be glad you didn’t sell off the symbol of our love for a mere ¥2,000.”

Iruka made a face. ’Symbol of our love’, my ass. He was really bummed about the money though – he couldn’t _believe_ he’d missed out on that much. Nevermind that whatever he hadn’t used up had eventually been returned. ”I wouldn’t have sold it for that little,” Iruka said.

”No?” Kakashi raised his eyebrow.

”No. ¥2,000 isn’t worth getting chewed out by you,” Iruka said.

”But ¥300,000 was,” Kakashi said, and a small change in his voice warned Iruka that they were approaching a sensitive topic.

”I miscalculated,” Iruka said, turning his gaze down to stare at his toes. They were brown with dirt after spending the latter part of the day in the yard and he wiggled them. ”I didn’t know it was that important to you. I mean, it’s just jewelry. People lose jewelry all the time. I thought, if you really wanted me to wear some you’d buy me a new one, or you’d simply make me go without.”

”It’s not just jewelry,” Kakashi said through clenched teeth. ”And I can’t just buy you a new one – it can’t be replaced. At least not easily and the meaning won’t be the same. I’ve had this pair since I was two years old.”

Iruka blinked up at the alpha. ”I didn’t know that.”

Kakashi looked like he might say something unkind, but he pressed it down and took a minute to collect himself. When he spoke, he sounded a lot calmer though there was an obviously strain to his manner that spoke of control rather than true ease. ”Even if the jewel did not hold personal value, it still became a symbol of our union the moment I gave the other to you. You can’t honestly claim you believed I would not be upset.”

”Jewelry is literally just an expensive thing to wear," Iruka said.  ”And you gave it to me because you _had to,_ not because you wanted to. It’s a requirement for getting married! How was I supposed to know you’d given it personal meaning?”

”Maybe the fact that it’s a requirement for getting married should have clued you in,” Kakashi bit out.

”You didn’t care when I smashed those expensive pots your aunt had bought. You weren’t sentimental about them. I mean, you were pissed off, but you didn’t really care. I thought this would be the same,” Iruka said.

For the first time since they’d begun their argument, Kakashi’s face softened briefly at something Iruka had said. The reaction puzzled Iruka, who thought he hadn’t said anything particularly endearing. ”I hate that aunt. I also think the pots are ugly, but Kiy—” Kakashi’s face shuttered, like bars falling to block a door. Through clenched teeth, ”My ex thought they fit the decor.”

Iruka burned with curiosity and saw an opening to ask about Kakashi’s ex, but then he decided this was a topic for another day. ”Oh, so you really didn’t care that I smashed them,” Iruka said, hoping that was generic enough to put Kakashi at ease. He decided that it had been the right thing to do when Kakashi relaxed visibily.

”We could have sold them,” Kakashi said.

Oh, right. Iruka rubbed the scar over his nose sheepishly.

”The jewels hold meaning beyond just the obvious,” Kakashi began in serious tone. ”Many people in this village recognize the blue diamond as a mark of the Hatake clan. Clans, the major ones at least, have their own stone that they cut small pieces off to make earrings for each family member.”

”Only alphas,” Iruka said.

Kakashi nodded his head. ”It’s an expensive tradition to uphold and, well…” It was Kakashi’s turn to be sheepish. Iruka eyed him curiously. ”The other two dynamics probably don’t care as much about acts of possession as we do.”

Possession. It was as if a lightbulb had gone off in Iruka’s head. ”Ah!” he said, pointing at Kakashi. ”That’s why you were so angry! The earrings aren’t just expensive jewelry or a family thingy… They’re the culmination of alpha assholery! By selling mine, I unwittingly questioned your status as my mate.”

Kakashi’s eyebrow twitched violently.

”Isn’t that right?” Iruka breathed. ”I _get it_ now. _That’s why_ you’ve been so difficult about all this.”

”It’s not just an alpha thing,” Kakashi said through clenched teeth. ”Wouldn’t you be angry if you thought I was being unfaithful to you?”

Iruka wagged his finger in front of the alpha’s nose knowingly. ”The difference between you and me, my dear, is that I wouldn’t think someone is being unfaithful when they don’t wear jewelry. You _do.”_

And though Kakashi obviously didn’t like the way his omega was talking to him, Iruka could see the truth in his eyes; That Iruka was right and Kakashi would not deny it. How could he, with all the evidence laid out on the table for the world to see? The only chance Kakashi had of saving face for all of alpha-kind was to retract his demand that Iruka wear the jewel wherever he go and, let's be real, the world had a greater chance of imploding spontaneously than for that to happen.

 _I'm a genius,_ Iruka thought with no small amount of self-satisfaction.

  

**TO BE CONTINUED**

 

 

>  Card # 1 : Something Kakashi says to a friend, time unknown
> 
> "It's the type of thing Kiyome would have hated," Kakashi mused aloud. As of late he'd been thinking about the differences between his current bride and his previous three, though usually he did not let himself reminice about the past. It would never come back, so he'd seen no point in it. "Speed eating with a mask, I mean. She would have found it barbaric."
> 
> "Iruka doesn't?"
> 
> Kakashi considered his words, taking a sip of his drink. "He thinks it's 'rad'."
> 
> "'Rad' like -"
> 
> "It means outrageous or phenomenal. I looked it up," Kakashi admitted.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Detail 1: The pot(s) are smashed in chapter 4.  
> Detail 2: In chapter 3, after the assassin has struck, we learn that it was an ancient ex-ANBU neighbor who alerted the authories. She's the one who owns the cat.
> 
> I feel like this chapter is mostly about small insights into the character's personalities while new challenges are being set up. In the next chapter we'll start picking up the pace again.
> 
> What will happen in the NEXT EPISODE of Married Bliss???


End file.
